Pregnancy and health disparities
Recently our partner Merck for Mother’s Priya Agrawal and Linda Blount wrote an article for ThinkProgress examining maternal mortality in the US and the higher risks associated with pregnant women of color.
At MCC, working to reduce maternal morbidity in Philadelphia. Below is a summary, but we recommend that you read the full article via ThinkProgress’ website:
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination heard testimony this summer on severe inequities in maternal health outcomes. This is an important and longstanding conversation within the international reproductive health community. But there was something different this time — the discussion focused on the vast racial disparities in maternal health right here in the U.S.
The testimony was spurred by a new report, Reproductive Injustice, published by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and the SisterSong Women of Color Collective. The report’s shocking statistics and the women’s voices behind them make clear that the U.S. has a long way to go when it comes to maternal health outcomes — especially for women of color.
It’s hard to believe that maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are greater than in 63 other countries, but it’s true. Here in the United States, the proportion of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth complications is worse than Libya, Iran, and Turkey — and it’s going up, even though the rates are declining in nearly every other country in the world. When it comes to racial disparities, the situation is even bleaker. Nationally, black women are almost four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth compared to white women. Racial disparities in maternal mortality persist across all levels of income, age, and education.
Read The Full Article On ThinkProgress