I recently read some alarming statistics and want to share them with you. After my Peace Corps assignment as a health education volunteer during the early 70s in Liberia, West Africa the topic of Maternal and Child Health became near and dear to my heart. The maternal mortality in the country at that time was 40%. My memoir, In Search of Pink Flamingos, describes that experience.
While it is heartening to learn that maternal mortality has decreased across Africa in the past decades with improved training and healthcare access, the disparity of U.S. maternal deaths between white women vs non-Hispanic black women is a tragedy. The deaths among non-Hispanic black women are 2.6 times more likely than white women. Here is what the 2021 CDC research has found.
The reasons lie in three major categories:
*Guidelines for caring for expectant mothers vary between states in the U.S. and often reflect social and political factors in each state. (note that some states do not report mortality by race)
*Mothers in rural areas are almost twice as likely as mothers in urban areas to experience maternal mortality, so states with larger rural populations are often at risk.
*States with higher percentages of at-risk populations, like Black mothers, may have higher mortality rates.
Multiple factors are believed to contribute to racial disparities in maternal mortality.
These include access to affordable quality health care and healthcare comorbidities that disproportionately affect Black mothers which may contribute to their maternal mortality risk, including chronic heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. It can be suggested that these women have more of these conditions due to a lack of access to affordable quality health care… And the vicious cycle continues.
Societal stress, insurance status, unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity, and limited access to prenatal education also may contribute to the crisis. This correlates to my blog about Healing Generational Trauma which states that the trauma of slavery can affect the health of this population for generations.
I encourage you to discover more including what can be done to improve the lives of pregnant women and their babies via this MAYO clinic article.
My blog is only the tip of the iceberg. Much research has been done and many articles have been written on this topic. The above Mayo Clinic article can guide you on how to act locally to bring equitable healthcare to all.
A new documentary called American Delivery will be released in October 2024. I encourage you to view this in your area. PRESENTED BY NORTH SOUND ACH, here is the movie summary:
More women in the United States die in childbirth than any other wealthy nation, a statistic that has worsened over time, despite medical advancements and improved maternal mortality across the world. And for Black women in the United States, the reality is even more stark. Enter nurses and midwives, who are trying to turn the tide of maternal mortality by listening to and advocating for pregnant women, bringing not only safety, but also joy back to what has been an unnecessarily painful and traumatic experience for too many.
Nursing and midwifery are at the core of successful childbirth.
Susan E. Greisen 