Black Maternal Mortality in the US
The following is an excerpt from a newsletter I composed in celebration of Black Maternal Health week, addressed to all the members of my pediatrics department that take care of children and families.
As many of us are already aware, the incidence of black maternal mortality in the U.S. continues to be one of the most egregious and salient modern day health disparities that requires our continued examination into its multifaceted causes, effects and repercussions. A maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as, “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes”. According to the CDC, in 2020, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women (19.1) Rates for non-Hispanic Black women were significantly higher than rates for non-Hispanic White and Hispanic women.
As physicians, it is our responsibility to prioritize learning about the roots of this longstanding, devastating public health issue and identify our collective role in improving peripregnancy outcomes for black mothers, infants and families. Pediatricians have a significant role to play in advocating for black mothers and infants during multiple clinical encounters within minutes to days following birth. A significant proportion of black mother morbidity and mortality occurs in the postpartum period. Therefore, pay close attention to black mothers in particular during these initial newborn clinical encounters and stay vigilant for symptoms such as maternal headache, blurry vision, nausea, severe abdominal pain, and excessive bleeding that leads to higher morbidity and mortality in this patient population.
Here are some additional resources in various media formats to further expound upon your knowledge of this topic.
Podcasts:
American Dissected, The Black Maternal Health Caucus with Rep. Lauren Underwood
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/america-dissected/id1480634141?i=1000550413109
KQED Forum, How California’s Black Doulas are Fighting the Maternal Mortality Crisis
Article:
“Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving's Story Explains Why”
Poignant article that examines the life and death of Shalon Irving, who despite high socioeconomic status and a strong support system died after giving birth to her daughter in 2017.
Movie Trailer:
“Black Motherhood through the Lens”
Upcoming documentary created by medical student at Brown University and filmmaker, Adeiyewunmi Osinubi spotlighting black maternal health disparities.