America is currently experiencing a heightened effort to pass federal legislation aimed at addressing the country’s alarming rates of maternal mortality and the glaring racial disparities that contribute to disproportionately high death rates among Black women during childbirth. Maternal mortality rates in the US significantly exceed those of other developed nations, with rates more than double those of countries like France, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Germany. The US has the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. The overall maternal mortality rates in the US have further increased during the pandemic, with a 40% rise in maternal deaths from 861 in 2020 to 1,205 in 2021, resulting in a rate of 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. The maternal mortality rates for Black women have been even higher, reaching 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021. These stark racial disparities in maternal health outcomes have persisted and worsened over the past two decades, as the number of women dying during childbirth in the US has more than doubled. Cedars-Sinai, a major hospital in Los Angeles, is currently under investigation for civil rights violations related to its treatment of Black women, following years of complaints about racism and discrimination since the death of Kira Johnson in 2016. This issue, along with the profound racial disparities, has gained significant attention due to high-profile celebrities such as Beyoncé, Serena Williams, and Tori Bowie sharing their life-threatening experiences during childbirth, highlighting the lack of support for Black maternal health in the US. According to a review conducted by the CDC on maternal mortalities in the US from 2017 to 2019, 84% of recorded maternal deaths were preventable. Monifa Bandele of MomsRising, an advocacy group, supports the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, a collection of 13 bills aimed at addressing the maternal mortality crisis in the US. These bills include provisions for funding community-based organizations focused on maternal health, improving data collection and research on social determinants, expanding support and services for maternal mental healthcare, and enhancing maternal healthcare for incarcerated mothers. The Black Maternal Health Caucus introduced a package of federal bills known as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act in 2020 as an effort to address the pervasive racial inequities in US maternal healthcare. Unfortunately, the bill package did not receive sufficient support to be passed in the Senate as part of the Build Back Better Act. Kimberly Seals Allers of Narrative Nation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing racial disparities in maternal and infant health, described the lack of passage as a reflection of how US society and the current legislative body view and value mothers and birthing individuals. The urgency for political action is clear, as demonstrated by the experience of Danielle Wilson, who faced numerous challenges and dismissals regarding her desire for a VBAC during her pregnancy and subsequent inadequate postpartum care, ultimately leading to hospitalization with sepsis due to endometritis. Wilson criticized the economic factors that often dictate care, including the overuse of C-sections, healthcare workforce burnout and understaffing, and racial biases that further impact treatment. To combat these issues, Allers created the app “Irth” as a platform for users to submit and read peer reviews on OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and birthing hospitals, with the goal of promoting improvements in care through collaboration with healthcare providers. Allers emphasized that healthcare systems in the US must prioritize transparency and accountability to ensure equitable and respectful care. The Momnibus, comprising 13 bills, was reintroduced in May with 187 co-sponsors in the House. However, the support has been divided along partisan lines, with all co-sponsors coming from the Democratic party, though the Mom’s Matter Act, which addresses maternal mental healthcare, has received some bipartisan support. Maternal health advocate Latham Thomas stressed the critical nature of the situation, describing it as a “critical emergency” and emphasizing the need for swift action to address the issue.
The Disturbing Crisis of Black Maternal Mortality in America
Denial of responsibility! Swift Telecast is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – swifttelecast.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.