‘Education is critical:’ VCU Office of Health Equity hosts event on black birth disparities

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – On Wednesday, 150 people packed a room in the Library of Virginia for a symposium hosted by VCU’s Office of Health Equity. The event “Improving Birth Outcomes—Health Disparities and Black Birthing People” highlights a topic that tends to get swept under the rug: black maternal health. VCU Office of Equity hosts event about black maternal death(WWBT) “They can also be involved. Participants have a role to play as long as they have an understanding,” said Sheryl Garland, executive director of VCU’s Office of Health Equity. A 2023 study by the National Institutes of Health found that black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy than white women. OBGYN Tashima Lambert Giles said that’s an alarming national statistic. However, it’s even more disturbing when it holds, if not more, right here in the Commonwealth. “In certain counties, you can actually see numbers that are higher than that. We attribute that disparate care, not being able to have access to hospitals that have maternity care,” Lambert Giles said. VCU Office of Equity hosts event about black maternal death(WWBT) That creates what’s called a maternity desert, which is most common in Virginia’s rural communities. “Those patients...