May 6th 2024.
According to recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a slight improvement in the maternal mortality rate for Black women, bringing it back to pre-pandemic levels. However, experts are still concerned about the overall rate and the disparity between Black women and other racial groups. In 2022, the overall mortality rate for mothers returned to 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, a significant decrease from the alarming rate of 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021. Similarly, for Black women, the rate decreased from 69.9 to 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Despite this improvement, the rate is still a major concern for experts. Jennie Joseph, a midwife and the founder of Commonsense Childbirth Inc., expressed her worries about what the numbers reflect for Black women. She stated, "We're leveling back out to where we were, which is still abysmal. We don't know until the next set of numbers come out," and continued, "this death is preventable no matter which way we count them." The fact that Black women still have a mortality rate that is 2.6 times higher than white women is a grave issue that needs to be addressed.
While it is difficult for experts to pinpoint the exact reasons for the drop in numbers, some speculate that it could be due to increased awareness and utilization of services provided by midwives and doulas. Others suggest that the impact of COVID-19 on childbirth may have played a role. However, some believe that the true effect on maternal mortality rates will not be seen until a few years from now, when the consequences of rural hospital closures, shortage of OB-GYNs, and the reversal of Roe v. Wade are reflected in the statistics.
Dr. Yolanda Lawson, an obstetrician and gynecologist and president of the National Medical Association, believes that the disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black women are due to the lack of adequate maternal health care. She is set to testify on this issue before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education and Pensions on May 9. She stated, "The disparity lingers and persists, as you can see from the data with Black women versus Caucasian women and others. Access is important from a lot of respects." Lawson stressed the importance of supporting states in implementing quality improvement projects and initiatives to address these disparities.
Although there has been a slight improvement in the overall maternal mortality rate, the United States still has the worst outcomes for mothers among high-income countries. This remains a point of emphasis for Dr. Angela Bianco, the director of maternal-fetal medicine and a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She stated, "Because our stats have been rather abysmal, there's been a national call to arms to address our maternal mortality crisis, which is definitively disparately affecting women of color." Bianco believes that a strong mental health support system could help improve outcomes during childbirth.
She further explained, "There's also your mental health. Mental health is very much directly correlated to maternal morbidity, maternal outcomes and mortality," emphasizing the importance of addressing both physical and mental health during the childbirth process. She also stressed the significance of having a strong support system and a trusted healthcare provider, as well as utilizing ancillary providers such as birthing doulas. Ultimately, the key to improving maternal mortality rates is to ensure that all necessary services are available and accessible to all mothers.
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