Here we are in another year of Black Maternal Health Week. It’s sad that this is still a topic of conversation in 2025. But we must continue to bring awareness to the issue. Earlier this year another young mother lost her life and left behind twins. In my home of New York City (NYC) this problem continues to happen in such a large city where there is more access to care.
Each year there has been a little more progress in maternal care for women overall. But this fact has proved different for Black women. As of 2023, the rates of mortality for Black women following childbirth are 50 for every 100,000 live births. For White women this number is 14.5, Asian women is 10.7, and Hispanic women is 12.4. The leading cause of death is often blood hemorrhage, spesis, or infections from viruses/bacteria. The sad part about these numbers is that socioeconomic status does not change it. Studies show that college educated Black women have the same mortality rates as poor White women .
What are some of the reasons for this issue?
- Systemic racism: There continue to be this idea that Black women don’t experience the same pain and/or complications as other women. Often, there are times when Black women feel unheard when expressing concerns about complications during pregnancy. When you have this bias and disregard for the mother’s concerns, this issue continues to proceed.
- Proper healthcare: Access to good healthcare is not something to overlook. When you get serviced by a good team, hold on to it. Having access to this is not available to all. There are still towns in this country that have 1 doctor to service the community. When this happens, the prenatal visits may be far in between each other.
- Advocacy: Having people around you who can help speak up for you is important. Having someone around who can speak up for you medically is even more important. Medical advocacy is a big deal and is not something everyone has access to whether in the form of family/friends or outside services such as Doulas or midwives.
So, during these last two days of Black Maternal Health Week, let’s have the conversation and continue to keep it in the back of our minds. It may not be you who’s affected by it today, but it can be you tomorrow. Also, someone you know, and love could be affected today. Let’s remember the many women who have lost their lives already and let’s hope by next year we see some improvements in the numbers.