Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Panelists shared their personal experiences as health care workers and patients in crisis. One mother described losing her baby and fighting for her life. “I've been fighting this for a long time. We were both on our death beds. My son got E. coli because he was in prolonged labor. We were in labor for 41 hours in the hospital. Because I was on state insurance, they didn't take the steps necessary to do an emergency C-section.” Rep. Gwen Moore and state Sen. LaTonya Johnson hosted a panel in Milwaukee to discuss the impact. “Look no further. Racism has been identified as a root cause of the Black maternal health crisis around the world,” said maternal health care advocate Vanessa Johnson. “It's critical to bridge these gaps and have conversations with health care providers, practitioners and interdisciplinary teams.” Wisconsin Department of Health Services findings reveal that black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. According to the state health department, pregnancy-related death rates for non-Hispanic blacks in Wisconsin are nearly 2.5 times higher than non-Hispanic whites due to systemic racism. These disparities highlight the need for systemic changes in health care, including expanding support programs, improving access to care and training health care providers on implicit bias and cultural competency. The Milwaukee Elevate Initiative identified factors such as poor quality education, reduced access to care and everyday stress due to racism as significant contributors to negative pregnancy outcomes for black/African-Americans. Organizations such as the Milwaukee Black Health Coalition and the African American Breastfeeding Network are actively working to raise awareness and improve outcomes, as are events such as the Milwaukee Film Society's Blackbirth Symposium. But policy-level intervention is essential to ensure real change.
Milwaukee —
Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
Panelists shared powerful personal experiences as health care workers and patients in times of crisis.
One mother shared her experience of losing her baby and fighting for her life: “I have been fighting this battle for a long time. We were both on our death beds. My son got E. coli because the labor was prolonged. We were in labor for 41 hours in the hospital. Because I was on state insurance, the doctors would not take the steps necessary to perform an emergency C-section.”
Rep. Gwen Moore and State Sen. LaTonya Johnson hosted a panel discussion about its impact in Milwaukee.
“Think no further: racism has been identified as a root cause of the Black maternal health crisis around the world,” says maternal health care advocate Vanessa Johnson. “It's important to close these gaps and have conversations with health care providers, physicians, and interdisciplinary teams.”
A study by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services found that black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
In Wisconsin, systemic racism makes non-Hispanic blacks about 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than non-Hispanic whites, according to the state health department.
These disparities highlight the need for systemic changes in health care, including expanding support programs, improving access to care, and training health care workers on implicit bias and cultural competency.
The Milwaukee Elevate Initiative identified factors such as poor quality education, reduced access to health care, and the everyday stress of racism as significant contributors to negative pregnancy outcomes for Black/African American women.
Organizations like the Milwaukee Black Health Coalition and the African American Breastfeeding Network, and events like the Milwaukee Film Society's Black Childbirth Symposium, are actively working to raise awareness and improve outcomes.
But policy-level intervention is essential to ensure real change.
