Latest Data on Maternal Health Underscores Urgency of Community Initiatives to Reduce Maternal Deaths

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released recent data suggesting that 80% of  pregnancy-related deaths in the United States are preventable. Pregnancy-related deaths included in the report occurred during pregnancy, delivery, and up to a year postpartum. Causes of death varied by racial and ethnic backgrounds, with mental health, coronary conditions, hemorrhage, and infection among leading concerns.

The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries, with Black women 3 times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. The latest report indicates a concerning trend upward. The previous data set (reflecting years 2011-2015) reported the number of preventable deaths at 3 in 5.

Working in partnership with local and national organizations, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities collaborates on strategies and solutions to the barriers to health equity. Among the recent activities are major programs that address areas of need in both Black maternal health and preterm births.

“This is alarming news and underscores our commitment to improving birthing outcomes through our multi-year Black Birthing Initiative,” said CHC Program Director, Adelaide Appiah. “We have to act now to address this crisis in a way that is sustainable, scalable, and collaborative. In order to do this, we should be working with communities beyond advisement, but rather centering their lived experiences in program development.”

Through funding from Elevance Health Foundation (formerly Anthem Foundation), CHC launched the Black Birthing Initiative in January 2022 to address the maternal health crisis and reduce preterm births. Since the launch of the program, CHC has built a program infrastructure with program staff and expertise, established collaborative partnerships with community-based organizations (Atlanta, Cleveland, and Indianapolis) – including recruiting partner organizations with 8 Black-led maternal health organizations – and completed a series of focus groups and listening sessions with doulas, birth advocates, and Black women and birthing people in each focus city.

Thanks to sponsorship from Hilti North America, CHC also recently hosted a special screening of the documentary Aftershock and panel discussion to raise awareness of the maternal health crisis facing Black communities. Aftershock, a Hulu Original Documentary  from Disney’s Onyx Collective and ABC News Studios, shines a much-needed light on the high rates of preventable maternal mortality among Black women in the U.S.  This documentary follows the journeys of two families after the deaths of their loved ones due to childbirth complications and shares how they galvanized a movement to address this devastating crisis.