"A real tragedy": In COVID-19 pandemic, rate of stillbirths doubles in Mississippi
CBSN
Coronavirus is taking a deadly toll on pregnant people and fetuses in Mississippi. Officials announced on Wednesday that the rate of stillbirths in the state has doubled since the pandemic began last year.
Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said at a livestreamed press conference on Wednesday that while "COVID is especially dangerous and problematic for pregnant women," it can also be "deadly for the baby in the womb." "With COVID, we've seen a doubling of the rate of fetal demise, or the death of the baby in the womb after 20 weeks," Dobbs said. "It's been a real tragedy."Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.