The U.S. is overdue in addressing the devastating racial maternal health gap.
By Yaryna Serkez and Duy Nguyen |
Giving birth in the United States is expensive and stressful. Unlike most countries, it doesn't guarantee any paid leave, but most critically, it's just plain dangerous. In 2019, 754 women died of maternal causes, making America an outlier among other developed nations. That year the mortality rate was two times higher in the U.S. than in Chile, and four times higher than in Sweden or the Netherlands. |
Why is one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations failing so many mothers? That's the question public health analysts at Surgo Ventures tried to answer in their latest report. Using 43 different metrics, ranging from reproductive health care to housing conditions, they aimed to identify what factors contribute to poor maternal health and which communities are at the highest risk. |
The results are shocking, but not surprising. Southern states fare the worst, with one-fifth of women living in counties with a high risk of adverse maternal health outcomes. States along the coasts score better, but pockets of concern are scattered across the country, especially in areas with a high Indigenous population. |
The racial disparities are particularly alarming. Compared to white women, Black women are 1.6 times more likely to live in unfavorable conditions and 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth. A similar gap exists between white and American Indian and Alaska Native mothers, with the latter being 2.6 times more likely to live under conditions not conducive to good maternal health. |
In today's essay for Times Opinion, Sema Sgaier, co-founder and chief executive of Surgo Ventures, and Jordan Downey, a data scientist at the company, share critical takeaways from their research, expand on the dimensions of this complicated problem and offer solutions for what policymakers could do to address this inequality. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. |
Contact us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment