Last month, Kveller wrote about a new report on the disturbing American infant mortality rates, and how they’re connected to race and racism. Turns out, the same thing applies to maternal mortality, the subject of “Death by Delivery,” a new film and investigation from Fusion.
Eliza Dewey and Nelufar Hedayat report:
Black women are nearly four times more likely to die in connection with pregnancy and birth than white women. (The Centers for Disease Control includes deaths related to the pregnancy up to one year after).
The disparity partially reflects socioeconomic gaps: financial inequality and an often-related lack of access to prenatal and other healthcare. But that’s not the whole story. It is also about race, and how race is experienced in the medical system.
Studies have found that black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women even when they are in the same socioeconomic bracket.
A film accompanies the article, and it’s worth spending time at your desk on your couch learning the truth about how American fails black mothers, even if it’s disturbing and sad.
