Maternal health

By Nikiba Richards, GCSOM, MBS 2019
Mentoir: Jennifer Boardman, PhD

I want to introduce to you thirty-six-year-old Shalon Irving Ph.D. who was an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Irving focused her life work on structural inequality, trauma, and violence that negatively affect a person’s health. Dr.Irving pregnancy with her daughter was an unexpected blessing, but then after a mere three weeks of giving birth to her daughter. Dr. Irving fainted and died from complications of high blood pressure. Sadly Shalon Irving story is one that many families can relate to. In the United States, African-American mothers die three to four more times than white mothers. The racial disparities that are seen among the health of mothers and infants are shocking. In the U.S., babies born to African-American mothers are three times more likely to die within the first year of their lives. The disparities in maternal and infant health are so severe that the governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy signed a bill to create a Maternal Mortality Review Committee which will yearly review reports of maternal deaths within the state of New Jersey.

Maternal and infant health is not a new public health issue in the U.S., in the 20th century for every 1,000 live births six to nine women died due to complications related to their pregnancy. In major cities such as Chicago, about 30% of infants died within their first year of life. Since then, the United States has made great strides in both environmental and nutritional fields that have brought a decrease in the death of mothers and their babies. Unfortunately, these even with these interventions, there are still significant disadvantages for minority women and their children. Nine major components are involved in the disparities seen in both maternal and infant health. The following is a list of the eight components: race, birth weight, education, income, prenatal care, mother’s health history, paternal support, and geographic location.

Research has found that African-American mothers are at the highest risk out of all other races to give birth to a baby that is considered low birth weight. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia states that a newborn to be born of a low birth weight when they are weighing less than 5lbs and 8 ounces. Education is an essential factor in determining the health of a mother and her baby; women who have a college degree or higher are found to have better outcomes in terms of survival. However, when observing African-American mothers with the same level of a college education as their white counterparts, those African-American mothers were still seen to have 50% higher rates of death. Income was found to be a substantial factor in determining both infant and maternal mortality. It has been found that whites living at or below the poverty line show similar rates compared to African Americans in infant and maternal mortality. However, when comparing Hispanic, Whites, and African Americans who are all living at or below the poverty line, African Americans have the worst outcomes. Prenatal care is when a pregnant woman seeks regular visits with either a doctor, nurse, or midwife to ensure the health of not only herself but of her unborn baby as well. African-American women have been found to receive less quality of care from health professionals, primarily in the last months of their pregnancy in comparison to white women. A women’s health before she becomes pregnant has a significant impact on her health and the health of the baby. African American women there is a higher risk of pregnancy complications due to health conditions such as preeclampsia and diabetes. Paternal support is an overlooked but important factor that plays into the survival rates of both mother and baby. African-American women are at a higher risk of experiencing chronic stress, and it is essential that they receive support from their partners and or partners, especially during the time of their pregnancy. Next is geographic location women who live in rural areas are a higher risk of receiving poor quality care, which leads to greater chances of dying and or having their babies die.

Due to the unsettling realities for African-American mothers and their infants, along with public outcry politicians, have started to make changes in laws to lessen the disparities that were witnessed. Laws such as Preventing Maternal Deaths Act which was signed in last December collects and analyzes data on every maternal death in each state. More still needs to be done, it is vital that every woman is educated and equipped with the tools that she needs for both her and her child to not only survive but to thrive!