It’s Black History Month, so we’re taking the time each week this February to focus on the racial disparities that exist in our current, broken health care system.
Some of the worst disparities in health outcomes between Black and white communities are seen in maternal and infant health. For decades, Black mothers and their infants have faced heightened risks of complications and even death.
According to the Tufts Center for Black Maternal Health & Reproductive Justice, “Black mothers are 3-4X more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts. More than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.”1
Despite advances in science and technology, maternal deaths in the United States have increased year over year. Existing disparities in maternal and infant health have only been exacerbated in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, limiting reproductive health care for millions of people.2
These disparities don’t just impact maternal patients, but also their infants. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that “infants born to women of color are at higher risk for mortality compared to those born to white women,” due to causes like “birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, maternal pregnancy complications, sudden infant death syndrome, and injuries.”2
No mother or infant should face greater risk of health complications and death simply because of their race. So how can we fix this?
Unfortunately, there are a variety of factors that contribute to this problem. The CDC reports that these disparities are caused by, “variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.”3
In our current, profit-driven health care system, inequities in health insurance, family income, and access to care can contribute to this. A major way to eliminate those factors would be through Medicare for All - a single-payer health care system that guarantees the same high quality care for ALL, regardless of a person’s race, ethnicity, income, employment, or location.
We know that Medicare for All would provide lifelong coverage for all medically necessary health services, including primary care, contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. And it would provide these services without the copays, deductibles, and premiums that so often create barriers to care.
We have a lot of work to do to address structural racism and implicit bias within our society and health care system, but a major piece of the puzzle to end racial disparities in maternal and infant health could be solved by passing Medicare for All.
Thanks for everything you do to spread the word and build support for our nationwide campaign to pass Medicare for All and achieve true health care justice.
In solidarity,
Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All
Sources:
1. Tufts School of Medicine: Center for Black Maternal Health & Reproductive Justice.
https://blackmaternalhealth.tufts.edu/
2. “Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them,” Latoya Hill, Samantha Artiga, and Usha Ranji, KFF, November 1, 2022.
https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/
3. “Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 3, 2023.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html
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