Black Maternal Health Week
This week, April 11-17, is Black Maternal Health Week. I had never heard anything about the public health crisis of Black maternal mortality before joining UMW. I remember sitting in Miller Center as we watched a video explaining the crisis and being shocked at both how bad it is and specifically, how bad it is in Texas. If you are not familiar with the issues surrounding Black maternal mortality, let me share some statistics with you.
According to the CDC, the overall rate of maternal mortality in the US is 17.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. For white women, that rate is 13.4. For Black women, that rate is 41.7. No, you did not read that wrong. Forty one point seven deaths for every 100,000 live births in the wealthiest country in the world. And no, this does not affect only women who are poor. It strikes in all walks of life, from women with PhD's to stay-at-home mothers, to everyone in between.
Dr. Heather Irobunda is a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, and created an Instagram post for this week addressing what disparities in Black maternal health tell us about our society. I thought this approach was very helpful to give a fuller picture of what this crisis says about us as a country. She points out that maternal mortality is a huge marker for the overall health of a population. One of the issues this raises is the problem of overall health in communities and full and equal access to health care. We know that health care in the U.S. is tied to employment. That means that education and job opportunities impact availability, affordability, and quality of health insurance, which then impacts access to healthcare. Other issues stemming from systemic racism including appointment availability, transportation challenges, environmental justice issues, and a shortage of Black doctors all worsen this public health crisis. I want to encourage you to read Dr. Irobunda's work for yourself, as I barely scratched the surface of her post--she is @drheatherirobundamd on Instagram.
So the question becomes, what can we do to help put feet to our faith? How can we help care for the marginalized and mistreated? The first thing we can do is learn. It is our responsibility to seek out information to learn about the issue. Here are some places to start:
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html
PBS News Hour: Texas Maternal Mortality Rates: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-fight-to-end-texas-high-maternal-mortality-rate
National Birth Equity Collaborative: https://birthequity.org/bmhw2021/
We can't stop there. Once we know more about the issue, we can work to make a difference in the systems and institutions that create such disparities. I'm not going to tell you how to do that, but I will encourage you to reach out to decision-makers in our local and medical communities to let them know why this matters to you and what you feel needs to be done to value every mother through her pregnancy, delivery, and throughout motherhood. I love what Garlinda Burton, deaconess and Interim Top Executive for GCORR--The UMC General Commission on Religion and Race--said this week: "We've got to stop worrying about our comfort and start worrying about our effectiveness as disciples of Christ called to transform the world. Safe never transforms anything. Ask Jesus. It's not being safe, it's being courageous. That's what Christians are called to be." Let's do this.
--Julie T., UMW President