Why Racial Gaps In Maternal Mortality Persist
Black and Native American women die of pregnancy-related causes at a higher rate than white women. Researchers say the gaps are driven by unequal access to health care and the experience of racism.
Medicine continues to advance on many fronts, yet basic health care fails hundreds of women a year who die during or after pregnancy, especially women of color. Black mothers die at a rate that's 3.3 times greater than whites, and Native American or Alaskan Native women die at a rate 2.5 times greater than whites, according to a report out this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yet, the report concluded, roughly 3 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. The racial disparity in maternal death rates is a dramatic argument for prevention efforts that address director of the Division of Reproductive Health and assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service.
