This week is Black Maternal Health Week, recognized each year from April 11 through April 17. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Approximately 700 women die in the United States each year because of pregnancy or delivery complications, but an estimated 50% of these are preventable.
- Research shows that between 2007 and 2016, Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native women had higher pregnancy-related mortality ratios (PRMRs) than White and Hispanic women.
- Black women have the highest PRMR, regardless of factors such as age, level of education, geographic location, income, or higher socioeconomic status. In addition to this alarming finding, overall pregnancy-related mortality is increasing, and the scientific community is still unclear as to why this is occurring.
At Cooper, our teams are working on learning more about these disparities and what can be done to improve the health of all pregnant people. Cooper is proud to be one of the 220 hospitals advancing health equity; reducing racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities; centering the voices of Black mothers; and lowering maternal and infant mortality across the nation through the Perinatal Improvement Collaborative. Our teams will be recognized for their work on decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality this June at the Premiere National Conference, a testament to the resources and intellectual curiosity we are able to pursue as an academic health system.
Also coming soon is the presentation of additional research during the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting in May:
- “Decreasing Racial Disparity in Unexpected Complications of Term Newborns.” Chelsea Starr Katz, MD; Guy Hewlett, MD, FACOG Medical Director of Labor and Delivery at Cooper and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CMSRU; Alex Santangelo, CCRC; and Robin L. Perry, MD, MSEd, FACOG, Chair and Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cooper and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CMSRU.
- “Improving the On Time Administration of Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Cesarean Delivery in African American and Latina Women: A Combined Obstetric and Anesthesia Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Quality Initiative.” Michele Mele, MD; Kyle Nguyen Le, MD; Guy Hewlett, MD; and Robin Perry, MD.
This research helped to demonstrate that focusing on a standardized approach improves outcomes for everyone, while lessening the disparities seen across race and ethnicities.
Thank you to all those who are making a difference in the lives of our patients. We look forward to sharing additional information about this work throughout the year.