October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, (KDHE) is partnering with Count the Kicks to accelerate progress on stillbirth prevention in Kansas. Congress recently passed the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2024, marking the first time in history that Congress has taken action to specifically address the stillbirth crisis in the U.S. The Stillbirth Prevention Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in July, amends Title V to include stillbirth and stillbirth prevention.  

In the U.S., stillbirth is defined as losing a baby at 20 weeks or greater during pregnancy. It is a public health crisis that impacts over 21,000 families in the U.S. every year. The Stillbirth Prevention Act provides both clarity and a vital call to action to state health departments across the nation that they can and should use a portion of the existing $2.6 billion of Title V Block Grant funding to prevent stillbirth. Kansas is one of only 30 states currently investing in stillbirth prevention programming.

The CDC lists a change in a baby’s movements as one of its 15 urgent maternal warning signs. Count the Kicks helps prevent stillbirths by teaching expectant parents a simple method for monitoring their baby’s movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. The free Count the Kicks app makes it easy for expectant parents to get to know their baby’s normal movement patterns and empowers them to speak up to their provider if their baby’s movements change. Research shows a change in a baby’s movement patterns in the third trimester is often an early red flag in pregnancy that something might be going wrong. 

For Kansas families, one in every 182 pregnancies ends in stillbirth. During Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, KDHE is working to raise awareness about the free Count the Kicks app and the importance of getting to know your baby’s normal movement patterns in the third trimester of pregnancy.  

“KDHE is committed to improving maternal health and birth outcomes for families in our state,” KDHE Chief Health Officer, Dr. Totten said. “We believe Count the Kicks provides a solution to help save babies now, and we encourage anyone who works with expectant parents to order free Count the Kicks educational materials to share with the communities you serve.” 

Racial disparities persist, and a disproportionate number of babies are born still to Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, black, and American Indian or Alaska Native families. According to the CDC, black women are two times more likely to experience the tragedy of stillbirth than white women are. For black women in the U.S., one in every 101 pregnancies ends in stillbirth. Black women are also three times more likely to die of pregnancy complications. 

“Count the Kicks gives expectant parents and providers the tools and resources they need to have an ongoing conversation about fetal movement in the third trimester,” said Emily Price, CEO for Healthy Birth Day, Inc., the nonprofit organization that created the Count the Kicks program. “Count the Kicks is proven to improve birth outcomes for moms and babies, and we are grateful to be partnering with KDHE to make this life-saving education available to Kansas families.”

In Iowa, where Count the Kicks began, the state’s stillbirth rate dropped by nearly 32 percent in the first 10 years of the campaign (2008-2018) and in the first five years, the African American rate decreased nearly 39 percent; all while the rest of the country remained relatively stagnant. 

This October, KDHE invites Kansans to speed up progress on stillbirth prevention in our state by sharing the free Count the Kicks app with every expectant parent you know. 

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About Count the Kicks

Count the Kicks is a program of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of stillbirth. The free Count the Kicks app is available in 20+ languages in the Google Play and iOS app stores and has been downloaded 600,000 times and counting in all 50 U.S. states, and more than 140 other countries. Count the Kicks has appeared on Good Morning America, The Washington Post, Sunday Night Football, and in O Magazine, and produced a national PSA that generated more than 300 million viewer impressions. Learn more about our vision to accelerate progress on stillbirth prevention at CountTheKicks.org