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Black maternal and infant mortality rates are still at an all-time high.
Black mothers are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white mothers. In the wake of Black Maternal Health Week, here are some ways medical professionals and healthcare systems can do their part to eliminate these horrible stats.
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Racial concordance in patient outcomes – especially regarding Black women giving birth, is imperative to uphold. When Black mothers are treated by doctors and other staff who look like them, the outcomes for themselves and their babies improve.
But, recently, more moms are choosing to deliver their babies outside of a hospital setting. One reason for the shift is that these women are aware that, in a hospital, they could receive inadequate and unequal care due to their race. There are devastating stories of Black women who have had their doctors dismiss their symptoms or concerns during pregnancy, leading to dangerous outcomes. Black women’s fears surrounding receiving inferior care in a hospital are far from unfounded.
Here’s the heartbreaking reality about Black mothers opting out of hospital births: newborns are more likely to survive a hospital birth than an at-home one. While there have been studies showing that home births are “as safe” as hospital births, that’s only the case for low-risk mothers. Black mothers are more likely to have high-risk pregnancies than white mothers. In theory, these facts should make the hospital the safest place for a woman to deliver, but it’s not.
Black mothers are stuck between a fatal rock and an equally deadly hard place when it comes time to deliver: opt for a home birth, where necessary medical intervention might not be available, or return in a hospital, where racial disparities in care pose life-threatening risks.
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One way to help those mothers feel safe delivering in a hospital would be to ensure the presence of Black staff. There is abundant proof that having Black medical professionals in every maternity ward would improve outcomes.
Research has found that infant mortality rates are reduced by nearly 50 percent when the delivering doctor is of the same race. During those critical moments in delivery, simply seeing another Black person in the room can help mothers feel reassured and gain the strength to keep pushing.
The benefits of being seen by a medical professional begin even as early as the prenatal stage. When Black physicians see patients of the same race, they report spending more time with their doctor and experiencing more agency in their health choices.
Government health agencies need to recognize that one of the most immediate ways to reduce maternal and infant mortality is to mandate that maternity wards retain Black staff. A mandate such as this would help Black mothers feel safer – and in fact, be safer – going to a hospital to give birth.
