Black Maternal Health’s Ongoing Mandate for Change  

How national initiatives are addressing ongoing gaps in care for pregnant women of color, and those of child-bearing age.  

Last week was all about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declaration that racism is a public health crisis. Yet, amid the popularity of that messaging, another relevant story got second billing.

April 11-17 marked the fourth annual Black Maternal Health Week, representing a clear-cut population health priority. I wanted to take this opportunity to review how national initiatives are addressing ongoing gaps in care for pregnant women of color, and those of child-bearing age. 

Current facts point to mandates for action:

  • The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, with the rate rising steadily for the past 40 years.
    • Reported pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 17.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017.
  • The ratios identified across ethnic and racial groups are unconscionable:
    • 7 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic Black women.
    • 3 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native women.
    • 8 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander women.
    • 4 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic white women.
    • 6 deaths per 100,000 live births for Hispanic women.
  • Several pregnancy-related factors potentially contributing to death have declined, such as hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (e.g., preeclampsia, eclampsia), and anesthesia complications. Though with chronic diseases on the rise, and especially for minority communities, these diagnoses (including chronic heart disease, diabetes, and cerebrovascular events) factor heavily in maternal morbidity and mortality rates.
  • Reviews from Maternal Mortality Review (MMR) Committees across 25 states are worth the time to review. Having sat on Virginia’s state MMR committee, I can attest to the rigor and commitment of those engaged in reviewing all pregnancy-related deaths, including deaths occuring within one year of giving birth.
    • A lengthy data brief and interactive map is live on the CDC ERASE Maternal Mortality Among the key findings:
      • Two out of three pregnancy-related deaths occur outside of the day of delivery or the week postpartum.
      • The leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths varied by race/ethnicity. Black mothers are almost three times as likely to die in childbirth compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
      • Two out of every three deaths were determined to be preventable.

At the end of 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) set the following thresholds to improve maternal health by 2025:

    1. Reduce maternal mortality rate by 50 percent;
    2. Reduce low-risk caesarean deliveries by 25 percent; and
    3. Control blood pressure in 80 percent of reproductive-age women.

The White House Proclamation for Black Maternal Health Week 2021 set the perfect tone: “the United States must also grow and diversify the perinatal workforce, improve how we collect data to better understand the causes of maternal death and complications from birth, and invest in community-based organizations to help reduce the glaring racial and ethnic disparities that persist in our health care system.” 

Our Monitor Mondays Listeners Poll asked how much our listeners and their organizations prioritized initiatives to address maternal mortality for women and youth of color for 2021. There were a wide range of responses, and they appear here. We can and must do better to address this population health mandate.

Programming Note: Listen to Ellen Fink-Samnick’s live reporting of the social determinants of health (SDoH) every Monday during Monitor Mondays, 10 a.m. Eastern.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Ellen Fink-Samnick, MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRP

Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning healthcare industry expert. She is the esteemed author of books, articles, white papers, and knowledge products. A subject matter expert on the Social Determinants of Health, her latest books, The Essential Guide to Interprofessional Ethics for Healthcare Case Management and Social Determinants of Health: Case Management’s Next Frontier (with foreword by Dr. Ronald Hirsch), are published through HCPro. She is a panelist on Monitor Mondays, frequent contributor to Talk Ten Tuesdays, and member of the RACmonitor Editorial Board.

Related Stories

Special Bulletin

The Undoing of SDoH Reporting

In a sweeping policy shift, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed significant rollbacks to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and equity-related

Read More

Leave a Reply

Please log in to your account to comment on this article.

Featured Webcasts

I050825

Mastering ICD-10-CM Coding for Diabetes and it’s Complications: Avoiding Denials & Ensuring Compliance

Struggling with ICD-10-CM coding for diabetes and complications? This expert-led webcast clarifies complex combination codes, documentation gaps, and sequencing rules to reduce denials and ensure compliance. Dr. Angela Comfort will provide actionable strategies to accurately link diabetes to complications, improve provider documentation, and optimize reimbursement—helping coders, CDI specialists, and HIM leaders minimize audit risks and strengthen revenue integrity. Don’t miss this chance to master diabetes coding with real-world case studies, key takeaways, and live Q&A!

May 8, 2025

Trending News

Featured Webcasts

Navigating the 3-Day & 1-Day Payment Window: Compliance, Billing, and Revenue Protection

Navigating the 3-Day & 1-Day Payment Window: Compliance, Billing, and Revenue Protection

Struggling with CMS’s 3-Day Payment Window? Join compliance expert Michael G. Calahan, PA, MBA, CCO, to master billing restrictions for pre-admission and inter-facility services. Learn how to avoid audit risks, optimize revenue cycle workflows, and ensure compliance across departments. Critical for C-suite leaders, providers, coders, revenue cycle teams, and compliance teams—this webcast delivers actionable strategies to protect reimbursements and meet federal regulations.

May 15, 2025
Audit-Proof Your Wound Care Procedures: Expert Insights on Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Audit-Proof Your Wound Care Procedures: Expert Insights on Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Providers face increasing Medicare audits when using skin substitute grafts, leaving many unprepared for claim denials and financial liabilities. Join veteran healthcare attorney Andrew B. Wachler, Esq., in this essential webcast and master the Medicare audit process, learn best practices for compliant billing and documentation, and mitigate fraud and abuse risks. With actionable insights and a live Q&A session, you’ll gain the tools to defend your practice and ensure compliance in this rapidly evolving landscape.

April 17, 2025
Utilization Review Essentials: What Every Professional Needs to Know About Medicare

Utilization Review Essentials: What Every Professional Needs to Know About Medicare

Dr. Ronald Hirsch dives into the basics of Medicare for clinicians to be successful as utilization review professionals. He’ll break down what Medicare does and doesn’t pay for, what services it provides and how hospitals get paid for providing those services – including both inpatient and outpatient. Learn how claims are prepared and how much patients must pay for their care. By attending our webcast, you will gain a new understanding of these issues and be better equipped to talk to patients, to their medical staff, and to their administrative team.

March 20, 2025

Rethinking Observation Metrics: Standardizing Data for Better Outcomes

Hospitals face growing challenges in measuring observation metrics due to inconsistencies in classification, payer policies, and benchmarking practices. Join Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, CMAC, ACM, and Anuja Mohla, DO, FACP, MBA, ACPA-C, CHCQM-PHYADV as they provide critical insights into refining observation metrics. This webcast will address key issues affecting observation data integrity and offer strategies for improving consistency in reporting. You will learn how to define meaningful metrics, clarify commonly misinterpreted terms, and apply best practices for benchmarking, and gain actionable strategies to enhance observation data reliability, mitigate financial risk, and drive better decision-making.

February 25, 2025

Trending News

Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →

CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24