Black maternal health: Addressing the national crisis

Too many women in America are dying or suffering severe complications to pregnancy, but Black women are seeing even higher risks of poor outcomes. Maternal deaths rose 40% in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black women are 2.6 times more likely to die of maternal causes than white women, according to federal data. Black women are also twice as likely as white patients to suffer severe maternal complications, according to an analysis by the Commonwealth Fund. With the observance of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17), healthcare leaders are drawing attention to the crisis. Kisha Davis, MD, a board member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, outlines a host of reasons for the disparities in outcomes for Black mothers. Black women are more likely to have high blood pressure that isn’t under control, Davis notes. Many suffer complications in the days and weeks after giving birth. “I also don’t want to discount the impact of racism and a person’s experience of racism,” Davis says. Black women are too often dismissed by clinicians when they feel like something is wrong. Serena Williams, the tennis legend and global icon,...