Bottle-fed babies most at risk as study shows high lead exposure in US water

Not long after Peter and Erica Finin moved from Michigan to Pittsburgh, they had the tap water in their new home tested for lead. It was 2017, and "the whole [lead] situation in Flint was very much in the news", Peter says. They'd been thinking about starting a family, and wanted to be safe.

Black Doulas Are Banding Together to Beat High Infant Mortality Rates

After getting certified in 2010, Fletcher spent five years as the only Black doula in Arkansas (which currently has the nation's third highest infant mortality rate). Yet most of her client roster remained white; in fact, of Fletcher's approximately 270 clients between 2009 and 2017, only 10 were Black, she says.

America has an infant mortality crisis. Meet the black doulas trying to change that

Rachel is a college-educated professional pianist who lives in a middle-class leafy Cleveland suburb with her husband and their baby boy.

2019 Community Leader of the Year: Christin Farmer

Birthing Beautiful Communities president and CEO leads the charge to make a difference in the lives of mothers in need. While growing up in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood, it was Christin Farmer's dream to be a midwife. As a junior majoring in nursing at Kent State University, Farmer would come to need the services of a birth worker, or doula, when she became pregnant.

Racism Is Killing Black Babies, But This Doula Is Fighting Back

The high rate of death for black infants showcases the virulent brutality of institutional racism. Recent data collected by the US government has found that black babies are twice as likely to die as white babies. And, according to reporting done by ProPublica in 2017, black mothers are 243 percent more likely to die of pregnancy or childbirth-related causes than white women.

Midwife group working to improve infant mortality rates

CLEVELAND - A group of African-American women are working to improve infant mortality rates in their community. Christian Farmer runs Birthing Beautiful Communities. Farmer addresses the problem with a new approach, rooted in old traditions. "It is very important to have black midwives caring for black women," said Farmer.

Most Interesting People 2018: Christin Farmer

As the founder of Birthing Beautiful Communities, Farmer is bringing doulas to mothers in need. Why She's Interesting: Farmer is on the front lines of Cleveland's fight against infant mortality, particularly in the African-American community. In 2014, she founded a nonprofit that provides free doula care to help mothers through the birthing process.

Do Good: "Doing Good Is About Collectivism"

Cleveland ranks sixth in philanthropic giving and is home to the first community foundation in the nation. We look at the city's rich charitable history and the challenges it faces in the future. Friday, November 30, 2018 Share this Story: "Doing good is about collectivism," says Christin Farmer.

Meet Birthing Beautiful Communities founder Christin Farmer: Saving the Smallest

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- Christin Farmer knew she wanted to help women have babies at 16, when she watched an episode of TLC's "A Baby Story" and saw a midwife with a birthing center delivering babies. "I remember it was so nice, the care the mothers received," she says.

Fighting Infant Mortality Requires a Neighborhood Approach

It was a busy year for Samantha Pierce. In 2009, she was a leader at a nonprofit, a wife and a mother. Pierce and her husband, Ron, were overjoyed when they learned of another addition to the hubbub of their lives - she was pregnant with twin boys.