CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hundreds of women die each year in the United States during pregnancy or in the year after.
The CDC said Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. And the March of Dimes’ maternity vulnerability index shows in North Carolina the rate of Black maternal mortality is high.
“It’s really embarrassing. And it’s a shame that we are in this situation,” said Karinda Roebuck, the executive director for Community Organizing for Racial Equity.
Numbers show maternal vulnerabilities are a problem for one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Roebuck said Black maternal mortality is the highest in the south.
“Anywhere between three to four women are more likely to die due to birth outcomes,” Roebuck said.
Roebuck said Black babies have a higher chance of dying within the first year of life compared to white babies. In North Carolina, the Department of Health and Human Services reported 4,067 infant deaths in 2022.
Black newborns make up almost half (1,708) of those statewide deaths. Roebuck said the leading cause of Black maternal mortality for mothers and babies is structural racism.
“Most of the time, Black women are not trusted and respected and making their own decisions for what’s best for themselves,” Roebuck said.
The CDC said multiple factors contribute to racial disparities, such as variations in quality health care, underlying chronic conditions and implicit bias.
Casey Hilliard is the project manager for Equity for Moms and Babies Realized Across Chatham (EMBRACe), a Chatham County partner organization that seeks equity for moms and babies.
Hilliard said maternal health is a social issue, and these outcomes are preventable.
“More concordant care, access to doulas, access to care in general, all of those things are really, really critical,” Hilliard said.
Both women say it’s not the health care system that will solve this issue but the community.
“We have to start further back in addressing these issues socially and in our communities,” Hilliard said.
“We can trust Black women to have the answers and to know what’s best for themselves, their children and their families and their communities,” Roebuck said.
The CDC said, in 2020, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women.
Rates for non-Hispanic Black women were significantly higher than rates for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women.
