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DiversityNursing Blog

Erasing Racial Disparities in Maternal Health

Posted by Diversity Nursing

Mon, Apr 17, 2023 @ 10:41 AM

GettyImages-1285268973Maternal health disparities are a significant problem in the United States. Women in America are dying at a higher rate from pregnancy-related causes than in any other developed nation. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.

According to the Center for Health Care Strategies, Black infants are more than twice as likely to die within the first year of life as white infants. Native Americans/Alaska Natives, Asian Pacific Islanders, and subgroups of Latina women and children also fare worse than white families when it comes to maternal and child health outcomes.

Reducing racial disparities in maternal health requires a multilayered approach that addresses the underlying social causes of health and institutional racism.

Here are some strategies that could help erase racial disparities in maternal health:

Increase Access to High-Quality Prenatal Care

Black women are less likely to receive early and regular prenatal care than white women, which can lead to higher rates of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Improving access to high-quality prenatal care can help reduce these disparities.

Address Structural Racism in Healthcare

Structural racism in healthcare, including implicit bias among healthcare providers, contributes to maternal health disparities. This racism means African American women often receive poorer quality care than white women. It means the denial of care when African American women seek help when enduring pain or that health care and social service providers fail to treat them with dignity and respect. This issue requires training healthcare providers to recognize and address their own biases and implementing policies that promote equity, culturally competent care and justice.

Increase Awareness and Education

Raising awareness of these disparities and educating the public, healthcare providers, and policy makers can help reduce disparities. This includes addressing the impact of systemic racism and the social determinants of health that contribute to poor maternal health outcomes.

Address Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health, such as poverty, lack of access to healthy food and safe housing, and limited access to transportation, can all impact maternal health outcomes. Improving these underlying issues can positively impact maternal health outcomes for all women.

Invest in Maternal Health Research

Investing in research on maternal health disparities can help identify effective approaches and programs. This includes studying the impact of implicit bias, the effectiveness of community-based interventions, and the impact of policies that address social determinants of health.

In conclusion, racial disparities in maternal health is complex and cannot be resolved overnight. This requires a comprehensive approach that addresses underlying social determinants of health and institutional racism. By implementing these strategies, we can work towards improving maternal health outcomes for all women, regardless of race.

Topics: maternal health, racial disparities, maternity care

Racial Disparities in Maternal Health

Posted by Diversity Nursing

Tue, Sep 24, 2019 @ 10:28 AM

pregnancyWomen of color in the United States suffer unacceptably poor maternal health outcomes, including high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth.

The Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System started in 1987 and since then, the number of reported pregnancy-related deaths in the United States increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births to 17.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.

Considerable racial/ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related mortality exist. During 2011–2015, the pregnancy-related mortality ratios were—

  • 42.8 deaths per 100,000 live births for black non-Hispanic women.
  • 32.5 deaths per 100,000 live births for American Indian/Alaskan Native non-Hispanic women.
  • 14.2 deaths per 100,000 live births for Asian/Pacific Islander non-Hispanic women.
  • 13.0 deaths per 100,000 live births for white non-Hispanic women.
  • 11.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for Hispanic women.

Variability in the risk of death by race/ethnicity indicates that more can be done to understand and reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African American mothers die at a rate that's 3.3 times greater than whites, and Native American or Alaskan Native women die at a rate 2.5 times greater than whites.

Pregnancy-related mortality rates are also high among certain subgroups of Hispanic women. A Science Direct article says, pregnancy-induced hypertension was the leading cause of pregnancy-related death for Hispanic women.

The CDC report also shows roughly 3 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. But, the health care system fails to listen to diverse population's health concerns and so the maternal mortality rate keeps rising.

According to the Healthy People Final Review, Approximately 25% of all U.S. women do not receive the recommended number of prenatal visits.  This number rises to 32% among African Americans and to 41% among American Indian or Alaska Native women.

An article from the Center for American Progress believes there is little research on what social factors contribute to poor delivery and birth outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native women because of the small population size and racial misclassifications. But they do know these women face many barriers when it comes to getting healthcare.

The National Partnership for Women & Families explains African American women experience more maternal health complications. 

  • African American women are three times more likely to have fibroids than white women. Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in the uterus and can cause postpartum hemorrhaging. Also the fibroids occur at younger ages and grow more quickly for African American women.
  • African American women display signs of preeclampsia earlier in pregnancy than white women. Preeclampsia involves high blood pressure during pregnancy and can lead to severe complications including death if not properly treated.
  • African American women experience physical “weathering,” meaning their bodies age faster than white women’s due to exposure to chronic stress linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination over the life course, this makes pregnancy riskier at an earlier age.

The CDC report also shows that more than a third of pregnancy-related deaths were due to cardiovascular conditions. Cardiovascular disease is more common among black women and can occur at earlier ages than in white women.

It is very clear that health disparities have a lot to do with racism. Until it is addressed and programs are put in place to combat racism in healthcare, mortality rates will continue to rise.

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Topics: health disparities, Maternal Mortality Rate, maternal health, racism in healthcare, racial health disparities, pregnancy related deaths

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