Healthier Together: Black Maternal Health Week

This week – April 11 to 17 – marks Black Maternal Health Week, a national campaign to raise awareness about the risks Black and other minority women face navigating pregnancy. KIRO 7 spoke to a doctor and explained why some women are still not getting adequate care. Dr. Nicole Saint Clair is the Executive Medical Director for Regence Blue Shield of Washington, and she says the problem persists even though we are firmly in an era of modern medicine in 2024. ” It’s so frustrating because this is an issue that is continuing to worsen.” She says awareness around Black maternal health needed a movement and got one in 2018 with the formation of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. In 2018, alarming statistics were revealed about Black maternal health outcomes by the CDC. The issue helped create the group, and while the group has worked hard and awareness has improved, care hasn’t necessarily followed. According to St Clair, “We’re still seeing maternal complications, severe complications, and maternal deaths.” According to the Commonwealth Fund, the US has some of the worst maternal and infant health outcomes among high-income countries. Those complications are often higher among Black women who are more likely...