User:Lyric Harris

The pregnancy related mortality ratio (PRMR) represents the number of deaths per 100,000 live births resulting from pregnancy or pregnancy related causes. Analysis of the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System, conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicates significant racial and ethnic disparities in pregnancy related deaths. Specifically, A 2019 report from the CDC shows that the PRMRs of Black women and American Indian women in the United States are 3-4 times higher than that of White women. For White women during 2019, there were an approximate 13 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. For Black and American Indian women, there were 41 and 30 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births respectively. The majority of these deaths were due to preventable diseases associated with pregnancy related mortality, such as hypertension. While the fatality rate of these diseases was higher among Black and American Indian women, the initial prevalence was generally the same across all races. Although lower than that of Black and American Indian women, the PRMR for Asian and Pacific Islander women was found to be higher than that of White women (with a disparity ratio of 1.1). The PRMR for Hispanic women has shown a decline in recent years. However, state specific reports show that Hispanic women face high rates of maternal morbidity.

The CDC cites multiple possible causes for the racial gap in maternal mortality. They say that most pregnancy related deaths are the combined result of 3-4 contributing factors. For Black and American Indian women, this can include issues of implicit racial bias held by healthcare providers, which affects the quality of care given to treat or prevent a fatal disease. These factors can also be more structural (e.g. the gap in access to primary and preventative care in minority communities). In the CDC report, economic status is not cited as a leading cause of maternal mortality. While economic status and education level is a possible contributing factors to maternal mortality, the racial gap is shown to persist across all economic and education levels.