Introduction

Motherhood is a joyous time in a woman’s life, however, the grim reality is that in the United States, too many women are dying while pregnant or after childbirth. A new JAMA study reveals that Black women and Native Americans are bearing the brunt of this tragedy, with rates of maternal mortality having more than doubled in the last 30 years.

Staggering Increase in U.S. Maternal Mortality Rates

Recent research conducted by Yale School of Medicine physicians solidly confirms that the rate of women dying from pregnancy related causes has skyrocketed in the US over the past few decades. The shocking figures show that maternal mortality rates more than doubled from 1982–86 to 2011–15, from 17.8 to 37.4 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Risk Factors and Maternal Mortality

The study also revealed the delicate balance of social and medical risks that pregnant women face. Black women, for example, are almost four times more vulnerable to maternal mortality compared to White and Hispanic women. Native American women were also found to suffer a rate of maternal mortality that’s nearly two and a half times that of White women. Other risk factors identified include obesity, chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, living in a rural area, delayed childbirth, and a lack of access to quality health care.

Conclusion

It is evident that more needs to be done to reduce the incidence of maternal deaths in the U.S., particularly among Black and Native American women, who are greatly overrepresented in these tragedies. Through greater health care access and more quality facilities, the rate of maternal mortality can hopefully be decreased.

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