Maternal Health Disparities and Fostering Health Equity

Giving birth to a new life should be a time of joy for the mother and loved ones while they get to nurture and bond with the newly born infant. Yet this is not the case for a startling number of some Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) groups in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated maternal health disparities and the prevention of pregnancy-related deaths with earmarked funding. Here’s a look at information about maternal health disparities, organizations that are working toward equitable maternal care for all pregnancies, and ways that others can help improve maternal health outcomes.

Maternal Health Disparities

Tennis superstar and multiple Grand Slam champion Serena Williams shared information about her experience with medical staff after she gave birth to her daughter. While having trouble breathing and with her past history of pulmonary embolisms, she knew that they needed to do a CT scan and to administer an IV blood thinner. Hospital staff dismissed what Williams initially requested, and she suffered with a hematoma, other complications, and six weeks of bed rest to recover after giving birth.

After Williams shared her experience, increased visibility and awareness have emerged on the issues with maternal health disparities for some BIPOC women. Though overall maternal health disparities are of concern, pregnancy-related deaths are a focus for improvements and change in the U.S. According to the PMSS, a surveillance system of the CDC, a pregnancy-related death is defined as a woman who dies during pregnancy or within a year of the end of pregnancy from a complication of pregnancy, a chain of health events triggered by pregnancy, or the aggravation of a condition unrelated by the physiologic impacts of pregnancy.

According to a 2019 report from the CDC, Black, Alaska Native, and Native American women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white women. And for these same BIPOC groups over the age of 30, the pregnancy-related mortality rate increased to four to five times more likely to die than white women. And when looking at a comparison of educated women, Black women with at least a college degree had a pregnancy-related mortality rate 5.2 times that of white women with a college degree.

As for the conditions leading to increased pregnancy-related deaths, Black women with cardiomyopathy, hypertensive disorder, and thrombotic pulmonary embolism of pregnancy contributed more to these deaths in comparison to white women; and Alaska Native and Native American women with hypertensive disorders and hemorrhage of pregnancy contributed more to these deaths in comparison to white women. Raising awareness about these specific conditions to both women in these groups and their healthcare professionals can also help reduce deaths during and following pregnancy and childbirth.

Maternal Health Support Organizations

With increased awareness about the striking maternal health disparities, many support organizations have emerged to help improve pregnancy outcomes for patients at the highest risk. These organizations include Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Mama Glow, Sista Midwife Productions, The National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC), MomsRising, Sésé Doula Services, and The Blavatnik Family Women's Health Research Institute among others. Some of the organizations can offer support beginning after conception and following through until months after childbirth. Women at risk of maternal health disparities can reach out to these organizations to learn more about the support they offer.

How to Support Maternal Health Organizations

Along with increasing awareness about maternal health disparities and informing others about maternal health support organizations, there are additional ways to help foster maternal health equity. More BIPOC and underserved groups can start training to become doulas, OB-GYNs, and other health professionals to work toward equity. Translation services must be essential for pregnant women who don’t speak English to ensure clear communication, and people can write to those serving in the U.S. Congress to ensure sustained funding to help close the gap in maternal health disparities and for national healthcare coverage for all. Childbirth should be a time of joy, and we can all take actions in some way to work toward healthy mothers with their babies no matter their population group.

Sources

Racial and Ethnic Disparities Continue in Pregnancy-Related Deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Accessed July 9, 2024. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html

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