All-hands-on-deck for Black maternal health

The recent, tragic death of Torie Bowie – a celebrated Olympic athlete – once again got me thinking about the crisis of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in our country. Why is it that Black women – from everyday folks to famous athletes – are disproportionately experiencing fatal and near-fatal complications from pregnancy and childbirth? What can we do to turn the tide, especially given the alarming trend of increasing maternal mortality?

It's abundantly clear that entrenched injustice within our society and inequitable social determinants of health play large roles in the maternal mortality disparity, but is it the whole story? I recently read Linda Villarosa’s excellent book, "Under the Skin," and she points out that not only are Black women three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth, but that the Black-white disparity is more pronounced as it relates to education levels. In other words, a higher-income, highly educated Black woman is statistically more likely to die in childbirth than a lower-income white woman without a college degree. So, even as we work to expand access to education and improve economic mobility in our communities, efforts that are critical to advancing equity – something that Advocate Health is committed to – may just not be enough.

To solve for this dilemma, we need all the real information we can get, which is why we're working with partners to gather data on health equity and maternal mental health as part of the Premier Perinatal Improvement Collaborative.

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