Addressing Disparities in Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Addressing the Ongoing Disparities

Research question: How can the ongoing disparities between maternal mortality and morbidity, specifically among African American women, in the United States be addressed?

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

According to Howell (2018), in the United States, African American women happen to have a significantly higher likelihood of dying of pregnancy-related causes – with the author in this case placing the said likelihood at three to four times in comparison to White women. This is the very same finding made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC which makes an observation to the effect that in the US, “black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women (CDC, 2023). Njoku, Evans, Nimo-Sefah, and Bailey (2023) also make a similar finding, indicating that in comparison to other ethnic and racial groups in the US, African American women experience the worst adverse pregnancy outcomes. This is despite the US being one of the most developed countries in the world. Indeed, as Gunja, Gumas, and Williams II (), the United States’ has had a worsening maternal mortality crisis over the last few years. This is more so the case when a comparison is made between the U.S. and its peers. In the words of the authors, “New international data show the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. continues to exceed the rate in other high-income countries” (Gunja, Gumas, and Williams, 2022). The mortality rate, as per the most recently compiled data, happens to be 17.4 per 100,000 live births for all the women in the US (Taylor, 2020). However, the fact that African American women are more likely to die during birth, or experience adverse outcomes as a consequence of pregnancies, i.e. in comparison to White women, is an indicator towards the need to perceive this concern as one deserving of urgent intervention. This is more so the case given that this could, to a large extent, be deemed a disparity in healthcare.

There are a number of reasons as well as diverse perspectives that have been floated in an attempt to explain or better understand this particular disparity in health outcomes. Some authors associate the concern with the quality of care African American women have access to. Other factors associated with the high disparity on this front are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; unconscious bias in health care, prevalence of underlying conditions, educational attainment, and poverty. Structural racism has also been identified as a leading trigger of the problem on this front. The solutions proposed to rein in the identified disparity also happen to be rather diverse. These range from finding lasting and practical solutions to structural racism. Structural racism could be conceptualized as a means of racial inequality perpetuated through cultural representation, institutional practices, and public policies (Taylor, 2020). It would also be prudent to note that in essence, racism also happens to be deeply rooted in social, economic, and political systems which may, in one way or another, converge to influence maternal health in the US.

A Brief Description of How the Paper Is Envisioned

The paper explores ways of reining in disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity in the US. The targeted population happens to be African American women. A sample of participants will be generated from this population. Efforts will be made to explore what past studies have found regarding the topic in question. Only credible resources will be relied upon, i.e. peer-reviewed journal articles, relevant scholarly resources in the realm of healthcare, organizational resources, etc. The analysis will be descriptive in nature.