In this panel discussion with DrK, the group discusses the maternal health crisis that Black women face. The panel includes Dr Myrna Alexandra Nickens, Dr Michelle Owens, and host Tamara G. Dr Owens is a maternal fetal medical specialist.
Every year, 50 thousand Black women experience serious complications during pregnancy and around 700 die during pregnancy or in the year after.
The CDC says Black women are three times more likely to dies from a pregnancy-related cause than White women.
The CDC says that multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. Social determinants of health prevent many people from racial and ethnic minority groups from having fair opportunities for economic, physical, and emotional health.
DrK says that the effects of deaths and complications on families go beyond just the numbers. They have deep and painful impacts on families. For the reasons for these issues – and what women and families can do when one of their members become pregnant, watch the video below.
