Duaa Eldeib is a reporter at ProPublica whose work has examined the systemic failures that led to a stillbirth crisis in the U.S., the fatal consequences of delaying care during the pandemic and the plight of hundreds of children trapped in psychiatric hospitals. She was part of a team of reporters who were among the first in the country to reveal the disproportionate and devastating effects of COVID-19 on Black Americans and collaborated with colleagues to cover the Trump administration’s Zero Tolerance policy for immigrants. Eldeib’s reporting has sparked legislative hearings and government reform and has led to the release of young men incarcerated as juveniles then later sent to adult prison for “minor” offenses. Her series on stillbirths was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting.
Before joining ProPublica, Eldeib was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, where she investigated police misuse of polygraphs in cases leading to wrongful convictions. Her stories with two colleagues uncovering children being assaulted and sexually abused at taxpayer-funded residential treatment centers was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting. Eldeib’s reporting also led to the exoneration of a mother who was wrongly convicted of murdering her son. She has won numerous other national and local awards and was a 2014 finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Before joining the Tribune, Eldeib reported for the Daily Southtown, where she wrote stories exposing theft and corruption at a regional education office, which led to the arrest of the superintendent and spurred lawmakers to abolish the office.
Eldeib graduated from the University of Missouri with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology and received a master’s degree in public policy from Northwestern University. She is based in Chicago
“Before a Breath” gives voice to parents who have lost children to stillbirth. Screenings for the film will roll out across the country in early 2025. Here’s how you can get involved to help spread the word.
Those who need therapy often have to pay out of pocket or go without care, even if they have health insurance. Hundreds of mental health providers told us they fled networks because insurers made their jobs impossible and their lives miserable.
The bill expands the use of existing federal money to be used to fight stillbirths. Lawmakers cited ProPublica’s reporting on the issue as key to adding urgency and building support for the measure.
ProPublica’s reporters want to talk to mental health providers, health insurance insiders and patients as we examine the U.S. mental health care system. If that’s you, reach out.
Australia has emerged as a global leader in the effort to lower the number of babies that die before taking their first breaths. It’s an approach that could benefit America, which lags behind other wealthy nations in reducing stillbirths.
Responding to a ProPublica investigation into the “lung float test,” which some have likened to a witch trial, lawyers and medical professionals will work to determine whether the test should be used in court.
Following ProPublica’s reporting on the nation’s stillbirth crisis, a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced a bill to fund prevention. After the Senate passed the legislation unanimously in September, the House is expected to take it up next.
The “lung float” test claims to help determine if a baby was born alive or dead, but many medical examiners say it’s too unreliable. Yet the test is still being used to bring murder charges — and get convictions.
The legislation seeks to improve data and research, as well as develop stillbirth awareness materials. Many women interviewed by ProPublica said they didn’t know they were at risk until they delivered their stillborn baby.
After legislation fell short of passage last year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers hope to advance a new bill to fund stillbirth prevention, and they credit ProPublica for its reporting.
We spoke to dozens of parents and medical experts about what causes stillbirths, whether there are warning signs to look for during pregnancy, and what your options are if you experience a stillbirth.
A National Institutes of Health report decried stillbirths as a “major public health concern” and said the nation needed to do more to address the problem through research and prevention.
A ProPublica investigation found the U.S. lagging other developed nations in reducing the number of stillbirths. Lawmakers say increased funding will be key to any improvement.
Black women in America are more than twice as likely as white women to have a stillbirth. Getting physicians to take their concerns seriously is one reason for this disparity, they say: “If you’re a Black woman, you get dismissed.”
One in three stillbirths goes unexplained, leaving parents desperate for information. Many doctors don’t perform autopsies or tests that could offer insight, while some patients decide against them without fully understanding the potential benefits.
Every year more than 20,000 pregnancies in the U.S. result in a stillbirth, but not all of these tragedies were inevitable. As many as one in four stillbirths are potentially preventable.
A lack of testing data and government guidance led many to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, unwittingly increasing their chances of a stillbirth.
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