Black Mothers Are Dying

BLACK MOTHERS ARE DYING

By Nyri Wells

Insights on the relationship between black mothers and the healthcare system in the U.S. and globally

The United States is no stranger to health disparities in healthcare. Despite this, the U.S. spends double the money, per capita, on healthcare. This is in stark contrast to other industrialized countries in the West, where health outcomes are significantly better than in the United States. There are several gaps within the healthcare system that are worthy of an in-depth discussion. The gaps in access to healthcare are most often seen in communities of color and those of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Moreover, the inconsistencies between races are most noticeable in both reproductive and sexual health (https://www.reproductiverights. org/node/861).

That’s it tho right? Nope, You Thought!: Within all of that disparity, research shows that Black women often suffer worse health outcomes in comparison to other women. One specific aspect of reproductive health that impacts Black women negatively, more than other races, is maternal health. For the past fifty years, African American women have been having higher incidences of maternal mortality (death during pregnancy/childbirth) in comparison to white women. The statistics are staggering, and there is no one aspect of the healthcare system to blame for these increased rates. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has long been involved in trying to mend this

Preterm Births as a Percent of Live Births, by race and ethnicity, 1992 to 2003. // CDC 204a & IOM

Sudden unexpected infant death rates, by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States

Maternal mortality rates in select countries and the United States // CDC

The difference in quality is a result of poor policy and institutionalized racism, and is evidence that the United States is in the middle of a human rights crisis. The U.S. promised in the Millenium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, set by the United Nations, to improve maternal health outcomes. Overall, the efficiency of the MDGs and SDGs is subject to debate. On one hand, both campaigns have sparked a concerted agenda to promote better health outcomes on an unprecedented international scale. Before both campaigns existed, efforts to better maternal health were completed on a country-by-country basis that was minimally effective to reduce maternal mortality. And yet, measuring the progress of both campaigns has been difficult. Most of the criticism of this global effort lies in the fact that both the targets and resources dedicated to these tasks is unbalanced which allows for many people to slip through the cracks of an already fractured system. (http://

localizingthesdgs.org/library/251/ From-MDGs-to-SDGs-What-are-the- Sustainable-Development-Goals. pdf).

It’s not all doom and gloom tho, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! (From my source) Poor health outcomes for women of color do not just reveal bad policy – they are evidence that the U.S. is failing to meet its human rights obligations to provide equal access to reproductive healthcare. CRR is raising this issue with human rights entities and experts at the United Nations, as well as on Capitol Hill, to push for recognition that the persistence of racial disparities in reproductive and sexual health is a human rights violation.

The CERD Committee recognized pervasive racial disparities in women’s sexual and reproductive health as a human rights concern and called on the U.S. to improve women’s access to reproductive and sexual healthcare, including contraception and sexuality education. Specifically, the Committee urged the U.S. to:

-Improve access to maternal health care, including pre- and post-natal care, through the reduction of Medicaid eligibility barriers;

-Facilitate access to family planning methods; and

-Provide adequate sexuality education aimed at the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.