One of just eleven states that refused to expand Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act, Mississippi has experienced a 900% increase in the number of infants born with congenital syphilis with at least one child dying of the disease, NBC News reports.
In 2016, just 10 cases of congenital syphilis in newborns were reported to state health officials; in 2021, the number of cases jumped to more than 100. Mothers pass congenital syphilis to their children should they themselves be infected, but the disease can be stopped by treating the pregnant patient with penicillin shots within three months of giving birth.
Most prenatal maternity care treatment plans would identify and treat patients who test positive for the disease as part of their normal program, but in chronically poor Mississippi, there are few OB/GYNs or even trained pregnancy coaches staffing health care facilities to care for and educate pregnant patients. The lack of care hits poor minority families worst: of the cases of congenital syphilis, more than 70% have happened with Black patients, although they account for only 42% of live births in the state.