Black Maternal Health: filling the margin

By:Danielle Rancifer

Contributors: Olivia Drawdy, Santiago Rodriguez

In the U.S Department of Health there's a list of banned words, one of them is Black. Restrictions like this have led Summer Lee, a Democratic House member from Pittsburgh, to ask, “ Do you have an idea on how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can't say 'Black?’” 

Lee is part of a growing number of Americans who are now sounding the alarm about inequities in healthcare for Blacks. But the kind of change she and others are looking for cannot come without first getting to the root of the issue; why are Black women dying at such a high rate, and what is the difference between them, and their White counterparts?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the Black maternal mortality rate is 50.3 per every 100,000 births, a rate that is almost three times higher than their White counterparts whose rate is 14.5. In fact, Black women maintain the highest maternal mortality rate out of all racial groups in the U.S. 

While there are national programs like Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) for high-risk families, Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), as well as state  initiatives, the gap between Black women and others is strikingly wide, and some believe it requires a different approach entirely. 

Government officials are now shining a light on the issue. People like Rep. Lee are pushing back against the defunding of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in healthcare, and creation of programs specifically tailored to reducing the Black mortality rate in the country like The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, legislation that promotes the investment in community-based care, workforce diversification  and maternal mental health

Although researchers cannot point to a specific cause for these numbers, things like internalized racism, miseducation among Black women about  healthcare, and socioeconomic status all play a key role in the end result –  inadequate care for Black women and an overall higher mortality rate

Latoya Paul, a LSU biological science professor, says, “Our ability to know how to ask questions when we get into the healthcare settings… is lacking." She explains that the care Black women need can be attained with self- advocacy, teaching them what to ask, things to look for, and how to maneuver in healthcare spaces. 

“The awareness, within the past 5 to 10 years, has been increasing…We don’t really have to think about elaborate ways… we can do this from our telephones” says Paul. 

Higher quality of care is evolving in Louisiana. Organizations like Nest Health, and Origin. Both offer in-home care for underserved communities and are now launching prenatal care programs. These programs aim to address maternal mortality in populations across the state with a large majority of Black mothers.

Overall, society is taking this problem more seriously, medical experts say, not only with programs like these, but with medical programs that update curriculum to address implicit racial bias within the healthcare system. People are also doing their part to create safe spaces for Black women to feel seen and heard, practice self-advocacy, and find solutions in spaces made for people like them.