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. 2019;3(1):10.33552/wjgwh.2019.03.000555.
doi: 10.33552/wjgwh.2019.03.000555. Epub 2019 Nov 22.

Black Maternal Mortality-The Elephant in the Room

Rolanda L Lister  1 , Wonder Drake  1 , Baldwin H Scott  1 , Cornelia Graves  2
Affiliations

Black Maternal Mortality-The Elephant in the Room

Rolanda L Lister et al. World J Gynecol Womens Health. 2019.

Abstract

Maternal mortality is on the rise in the United States and it disproportionately affects black women. The reasons for this staggering discrepancy hinge on three central issues: First, black women are more likely to have pre-existing cardiovascular morbidity that increase the risk of maternal mortality. Second, black women are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes which puts them at risk for developing long-term cardiovascular disease. Third, racial bias of providers and perceived racial discrimination from patients (the elephant in the room) impacts black patients' trust in their providers and the medical community at large. Reducing black maternal mortality involves a multi-tiered approach involving the patient, provider and public health policy.

Keywords: Blacks; Maternal mortality; Whites.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
A. State by state comparison of the overall incidence of maternal mortality ratio/100,000 live births. B. State by state comparison of the overall incidence of black maternal mortality ratio/100,000 live births. (Reproduced with permission from the Preeclampsia Foundation).
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Maternal mortality has a starburst effect on her family, local community and affects the national and international dialog.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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