Is racism causing more black and native women to die from pregnancy?
Is racism causing more black and native women to die from pregnancy?
Black, Native American, and Alaska Native women are much more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white, Hispanic, and Asian women, according to a troubling new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Experts believe racism and unconscious bias in the healthcare system toward black and Native women is largely to blame for this disparity. Additionally, black women are at especially high risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death during and after the pregnancy period The CDC reviewed data on pregnancy-related deaths in the United States between 2011 and 2017 It found that African American women died from pregnancy and childbirth complications three times more often than white women, at almost 43 black women per 100,000 live births. Pregnancy-related death rates among Native American and Alaska Native women were 2.5 times higher than those of white women, at close to 33 women per 100,000 live births Maternal mortality rates were similar among whites, Hispanics, Asians, and Pacific Islanders, ranging between 11 and 14 deaths per 100,000 births, the report found The CDC cautioned that the data on Hispanic women might not be accurate, however.