maternal mortality

Kennise Nevers holds her son, AJ, in her arms at home. Nevers' mother, Nancy Josey, looks on.

Health & Safety

The simple intervention that may keep Black moms healthier

7:54am March 28, 2023

by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey

A Boston hospital gets daily, home blood pressure checks for moms at risk for the pregnancy complication, pre-eclampsia. The effort is a response to alarming rates of Black maternal mortality.

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Wanda Irving holds her granddaughter, Soleil, in front of a portrait of Soleil's mother, Shalon Irving, at her home in Sandy Springs, Ga., in 2017. Wanda is raising Soleil since Shalon died of complications due to hypertension a few weeks after giving birth.

Health & Safety

Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports

5:39pm March 16, 2023

After years of high rates, the country hit a new high during the pandemic, far exceeding rates in other developed nations. Black women are at especially high risk.

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Physicians say roughly half of all preterm births are preventable, caused by social, economic and environmental factors, as well as inadequate access to prenatal health care.

The U.S. has a high rate of preterm births, and abortion bans could make that worse

5:00am March 15, 2023

by Sarah Varney

The rates of premature birth in the U.S. are high, especially in certain states. Experts worry that states restricting abortion have fewer maternal care providers than those with abortion access.

Health & Safety

The number of mothers who die due to pregnancy or childbirth is 'unacceptable'

12:00pm February 23, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

That's what epidemiologist Jenny Cresswell of the World Health Organization said of death rate data in a new report she authored — "equivalent to almost 800 deaths a day or a death every 2 minutes."

Registered nurse Carole Kriessman performs a quick checkup on Ja'Mil'Lion DeLorenzo's 4-week-old son, Haiyden, at DeLorenzo's grandmother's home in Glenolden, Pa., on June 9.

Maternal deaths in the U.S. are staggeringly common. Personal nurses could help

5:00pm January 03, 2023

by Laura Benshoff

The nation has the highest rate of maternal mortality among wealthy countries. A long-standing program, Nurse-Family Partnership, which supports new parents, works to address this deadly trend.

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Race

Novant Health and a/perture cinema aim to raise awareness about Black maternal mortality

3:13pm November 28, 2022

by David Ford

According to data from the Commonwealth Fund, American women already experience the highest maternal death rates among developed nations. Black women are nearly three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.

Data compiled by the CDC highlights multiple weaknesses in the system of care for new mothers, from obstetricians who are not trained (or paid) to look for signs of mental trouble or addiction, to policies that strip women of health coverage shortly after they give birth.

Health department medical detectives find 84% of U.S. maternal deaths are preventable

5:00am October 21, 2022

by April Dembosky

More than half of these deaths occur well after the mom leaves the hospital. To save lives, mothers need more support in the "fourth trimester, that time after the baby is born," one researcher says.

Hajime White (right) with her daughter Gwen and Gwen's daughter, Quen, at the family compound in Warren, Ark. Gwen had her first baby, a son, at 16, and, defying the odds for teen moms, went on to finish high school and earn a degree in pharmacy tech. "She never stopped because she had the support of me, her dad and her sisters," Hajime says.

Health & Safety

Why childbirth is so dangerous for many young teens

5:37pm October 07, 2022

by Sarah Varney

Laws banning abortion in many conservative U.S. states are expected to boost birth rates among adolescents, whose bodies often aren't built for safe childbirth, or for carrying a pregnancy to term.

States with abortion bans tend to have higher rates of child poverty.

States with the toughest abortion laws have the weakest maternal supports, data shows

10:54am August 18, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Many of the states that are moving to ban abortion tend to have less access to health care, worse maternal and infant health care outcomes and weaker social supports for children and families.

Dr. Michelle Wilson just graduated from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University. She will continue her training with a residency in family medicine at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga.

Health & Safety

Trying To Avoid Racist Health Care, Black Women Seek Out Black Obstetricians

1:09pm May 28, 2021

by Verónica Zaragovia

Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Some of them look to Black doctors for a sense of safety and connection, while medical schools add anti-racism training.