On February 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report showing maternal mortality rates in the United States for 2023. While overall the statistics were positive, showing decreases in maternal mortality from 2022 for most racial groups and all age groups, the maternal mortality rate for Black women actually increased between 2022 and 2023, worsening existing racial disparities in pregnancy-related deaths.
These new data on Black maternal mortality are disheartening, especially considering that more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States are preventable. What’s more, advocates have been sounding the alarm for over a decade—especially since the 2022 Dobbs decision that upended the federal right to abortion—that a lack of comprehensive reproductive health care would have a far-reaching chilling effect that would disproportionately harm the maternal health of Black women and birthing people.
FIGURE 1
Addressing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality Rates
Despite increased grassroots advocacy, legislative efforts, and media coverage at the local, state, and national levels, racial disparities in maternal health outcomes have not only persisted but worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are not out of solutions. There are a number of actionable steps that can be taken to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women and birthing people going forward. Below are examples of some of the most timely ones.
1. Trust and listen to Black women
The racial disparities in maternal health outcomes in the United States will not be eliminated unless Black women and birthing peoples’ voices are heard and respected. Whether it is Black women community leaders, health workers, policymakers, advocates, or—critical to this conversation—Black mothers and pregnant women, the perspectives, expertise, and lived experiences of Black women seeking maternal care are discounted or flat-out ignored far too often. This has been documented in countless instances, from the tragic and preventable death of Kira Johnson to the traumatic birthing stories of celebrities such as Serena Williams. The latest CDC data makes it clear: we have a long way to go before we can see true racial equity in maternal health in this country, and this current moment requires swift and decisive action. Programs such as the CDC’s Hear Her Campaign offer resources for women who are pregnant or postpartum; their partners, family, and friends; and the health care professionals who interact with them.
2. Protect and expand the Medicaid program
Not only does Medicaid fund roughly 40 percent of all births in the United States, the public health insurance program also funds 65 percent of births to Black mothers. Health systems across the country—and particularly in rural areas—rely on the Medicaid program to keep their labor and delivery departments open and running. Yet the Trump administration and the 119th Congress have already expressed their intention to pursue cuts to Medicaid spending. The brief shutdown of the Medicaid program at the end of January caused fear and confusion for patients and providers alike. Even though funding was restored, any disruptions—even temporary ones—to Medicaid programs can have deleterious effects to hospitals and health care systems across the country. The Medicaid program needs to not only be protected, but expanded. The Medicaid coverage gap is a maternal health equity issue. While those who are in the coverage gap do qualify for Medicaid coverage once they become pregnant, being uninsured before becoming pregnant puts women and birthing people at greater risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. Roughly one third of women of reproductive age who fall in the Medicaid coverage gap are Black.
3. Protect and expand access to abortion care
Nearly 60 percent of Black women and birthing people live in states that either currently have abortion restrictions or have plans to enact them. Just last year, light was shed on the devastating deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, who died because of the state of Georgia’s medically unnecessary abortion ban. Since then, Georgia has disbanded its Maternal Mortality Review Committee that tracks critical maternal mortality data and which had concluded that the deaths of Amber and Candi were, in fact, preventable. Preventing maternal deaths for Black women and birthing people cannot occur without ensuring access to the full-spectrum of comprehensive reproductive health care, inclusive of abortion care.
4. Fund and diversify the perinatal workforce
The perinatal workforce is directly impacted by the above recommendations to protect and expand both the Medicaid program and access to abortion care. As it stands, forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have implemented a twelve-month extension of Medicaid postpartum coverage, and forty-three states and the District of Columbia have implemented Medicaid coverage for doula care. State abortion bans and restrictions have been directly tied to perinatal staff shortages and exacerbation of maternity care deserts across the country. This puts pregnant women and birthing people, especially those living in rural areas, at direct risk, delaying necessary prenatal care visits, increasing wait times, and crowding maternity wards.
Research has shown that racially concordant care improves health outcomes, but as it stands, the percentage of Black doctors, nurses, and midwives do not reflect the percentage of Black patients in the health care system that need high quality, compassionate, and respectful maternal health care. Improving maternal health equity will require not only funding pipeline programs that train perinatal health care workers to alleviate existing workforce shortages, but also diversifying the perinatal workforce.
To stay up to date on more maternal health news, you can subscribe to the Maternal Health Policy Pulse, a newsletter run by The Century Foundation’s Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective.
Tags: Black Mothers, Mortality Rates, black women, mothers
Black Maternal Mortality Is Still Rising. What Can Be Done?
On February 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report showing maternal mortality rates in the United States for 2023. While overall the statistics were positive, showing decreases in maternal mortality from 2022 for most racial groups and all age groups, the maternal mortality rate for Black women actually increased between 2022 and 2023, worsening existing racial disparities in pregnancy-related deaths.
These new data on Black maternal mortality are disheartening, especially considering that more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States are preventable. What’s more, advocates have been sounding the alarm for over a decade—especially since the 2022 Dobbs decision that upended the federal right to abortion—that a lack of comprehensive reproductive health care would have a far-reaching chilling effect that would disproportionately harm the maternal health of Black women and birthing people.
FIGURE 1
Addressing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality Rates
Despite increased grassroots advocacy, legislative efforts, and media coverage at the local, state, and national levels, racial disparities in maternal health outcomes have not only persisted but worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are not out of solutions. There are a number of actionable steps that can be taken to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women and birthing people going forward. Below are examples of some of the most timely ones.
1. Trust and listen to Black women
The racial disparities in maternal health outcomes in the United States will not be eliminated unless Black women and birthing peoples’ voices are heard and respected. Whether it is Black women community leaders, health workers, policymakers, advocates, or—critical to this conversation—Black mothers and pregnant women, the perspectives, expertise, and lived experiences of Black women seeking maternal care are discounted or flat-out ignored far too often. This has been documented in countless instances, from the tragic and preventable death of Kira Johnson to the traumatic birthing stories of celebrities such as Serena Williams. The latest CDC data makes it clear: we have a long way to go before we can see true racial equity in maternal health in this country, and this current moment requires swift and decisive action. Programs such as the CDC’s Hear Her Campaign offer resources for women who are pregnant or postpartum; their partners, family, and friends; and the health care professionals who interact with them.
2. Protect and expand the Medicaid program
Not only does Medicaid fund roughly 40 percent of all births in the United States, the public health insurance program also funds 65 percent of births to Black mothers. Health systems across the country—and particularly in rural areas—rely on the Medicaid program to keep their labor and delivery departments open and running. Yet the Trump administration and the 119th Congress have already expressed their intention to pursue cuts to Medicaid spending. The brief shutdown of the Medicaid program at the end of January caused fear and confusion for patients and providers alike. Even though funding was restored, any disruptions—even temporary ones—to Medicaid programs can have deleterious effects to hospitals and health care systems across the country. The Medicaid program needs to not only be protected, but expanded. The Medicaid coverage gap is a maternal health equity issue. While those who are in the coverage gap do qualify for Medicaid coverage once they become pregnant, being uninsured before becoming pregnant puts women and birthing people at greater risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. Roughly one third of women of reproductive age who fall in the Medicaid coverage gap are Black.
3. Protect and expand access to abortion care
Nearly 60 percent of Black women and birthing people live in states that either currently have abortion restrictions or have plans to enact them. Just last year, light was shed on the devastating deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, who died because of the state of Georgia’s medically unnecessary abortion ban. Since then, Georgia has disbanded its Maternal Mortality Review Committee that tracks critical maternal mortality data and which had concluded that the deaths of Amber and Candi were, in fact, preventable. Preventing maternal deaths for Black women and birthing people cannot occur without ensuring access to the full-spectrum of comprehensive reproductive health care, inclusive of abortion care.
4. Fund and diversify the perinatal workforce
The perinatal workforce is directly impacted by the above recommendations to protect and expand both the Medicaid program and access to abortion care. As it stands, forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have implemented a twelve-month extension of Medicaid postpartum coverage, and forty-three states and the District of Columbia have implemented Medicaid coverage for doula care. State abortion bans and restrictions have been directly tied to perinatal staff shortages and exacerbation of maternity care deserts across the country. This puts pregnant women and birthing people, especially those living in rural areas, at direct risk, delaying necessary prenatal care visits, increasing wait times, and crowding maternity wards.
Research has shown that racially concordant care improves health outcomes, but as it stands, the percentage of Black doctors, nurses, and midwives do not reflect the percentage of Black patients in the health care system that need high quality, compassionate, and respectful maternal health care. Improving maternal health equity will require not only funding pipeline programs that train perinatal health care workers to alleviate existing workforce shortages, but also diversifying the perinatal workforce.
To stay up to date on more maternal health news, you can subscribe to the Maternal Health Policy Pulse, a newsletter run by The Century Foundation’s Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective.
Tags: Black Mothers, Mortality Rates, black women, mothers