Sen. Bob Casey, state and county officials discuss Black Maternal Health at Philly campaign stop

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! Black maternal mortality, once a nearly unspoken and taboo topic discussed by families in private, has emerged as a topic addressed by everyone from the World Health Organization (WHO) to the White House to Pennsylvania state leaders. Maternal mortality refers to deaths due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth. The WHO reports maternal mortality has increased worldwide, and according to its April 2024 publication, on average,  almost 800 women died each day in 2020 from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth — with nearly 95% of them occurring in low- and lower-middle-income countries and most having been preventable. Shockingly, America is not exempt. In fact, according to “The White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis,” women here are dying from pregnancy-related causes at a higher rate than in any other developed nation. WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor U.S. Sen. Bob Casey joined Montgomery County Coroner Janine Darby, M.D., and Pa. Reps. Morgan Cephas and Gina Curry for a conversation on Black maternal health at a campaign stop last week at Mingle...