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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal death | 9/10 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_death | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:30:33.740084+00:00 | kb-cron |
In the United States, women who are black and non-Hispanic experience pregnancy-related death at a significantly higher rate. They are three to four times as likely to succumb to maternal mortality than non-Hispanic white women. In the United States between the years of 2007 and 2014, women who identify as non-Hispanic and black had a significant increase in death related to pregnancy. In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the maternal mortality rate in 2021 was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is significantly higher than the rates in 2020, defined as 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births and 20.1 in 2019. In 2021, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is 2.6 times higher than non-Hispanic White women. The mortality rate for women over the age of 40 was 6.8 times higher than the rate for women under the age of 25. Research indicates that these disparities in the U.S. are not due to genetic differences, but rather systemic factors, including racial bias in healthcare, inadequate access to high-quality maternity care, and higher rates of chronic conditions like hypertension and preeclampsia. Implicit bias among healthcare providers has been documented as a contributing factor to these disparities, leading to the dismissal of Black women's pain and symptoms, resulting in delayed or inadequate treatment. Studies have found that some healthcare providers incorrectly believe that Black patients feel less pain, which has been linked to delays in diagnosing and managing pregnancy-related complications like preeclampsia and hemorrhage Additionally, Black women face barriers to high-quality maternal care, including living in maternity care deserts, a lack of access to midwifery and doula services, and financial challenges due to inadequate insurance coverage. Many states have restrictive policies on midwifery care, which further limits Black women's access to alternatives that have been shown to improve maternal outcomes The disparities in maternal health outcomes are also present among racial groups. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women experience pregnancy-related mortality rates over three times those of White women. In 2020, rates were 55.9 and 63.4 per 100,000 live births for Black and AI/AN women, respectively, versus 18.1 for White women; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women had a rate of 62.8. In 2023, the CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System reported pregnancy-related mortality ratios of 49.4 for Black women and 14.9 for White women per 100,000 live births. In the United States, black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from maternal mortality than white women. Unequal access to quality medical care, socioeconomic disparities, and systemic racism by health care providers are factors that have contributed to the high maternal mortality rates among black women. Discounting factors such as pre-existing conditions, do not impact the rate of this disparity. The COVID-19 pandemic heightened maternal mortality rates, disproportionately impacting communities of color. Multiple factors contribute to this widening disparity, notably, social factors such as implicit bias, repeated racial discrimination, and limited access to healthcare. All issues are further exacerbated for people of color who face systemic barriers to adequate medical care. Overall, the maternal mortality rate increased from 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, to 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021. An apparent spike in this rate can be noted in 2021. For non-hispanic black women the rate of maternal deaths per 100,00 live births increased from 44.0 in 2019 to 69.9 in 2021.
==== Elsewhere ==== Similar patterns exist in other countries. In Brazil, women who are not white were 3.5 times as likely to die because of obstetric mortality compared to white women. The maternal mortality ratio is larger in women who are from Sub-Saharan Africa in France.
=== COVID-19 effects === Global maternal mortality and fetal outcomes have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increases in maternal deaths, stillbirths, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and maternal depression occurred globally during this time. According to The Lancet Global Health, their search, which included over 40 studies, identified significant increases in stillbirth and maternal death during the pandemic versus before the pandemic. According to the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, a proportion of total COVID-19 deaths were indirect obstetric deaths where a woman's death was due to the aggravation between the disease and the state of pregnancy. Some outcomes show considerable disparity between low- and high-resource settings. This drives the urgent global need to prioritize safe, equitable, and accessible maternal care in future healthcare crises.
=== Variation within countries === There are significant maternal mortality intra-country variations, especially in nations with large inequality gaps in income and education and high healthcare disparities. Women living in rural areas experience higher maternal mortality than women living in urban and suburban centers because those living in wealthier households, having higher education, or living in urban areas, have higher use of healthcare services than their poorer, less-educated, or rural counterparts. There are also racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes which increases maternal mortality in marginalized groups.
== Related terms ==