This brief finds ample evidence that racism is the root cause for maternal mortality rate discrepancies among ethnic groups in the U.S. It recommends support for community-based doulas, who provide a range of home visiting and peer support, to provide protection that may be able to impact the mortality rate gap.
The paper is the second in a series of reports authored by Athena Cross of Cross Healthcare Solutions, for HealthConnect One, the national leader in advancing equitable, community-based, peer-to-peer support for pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting. The series addresses the fact that Black women are still three to four times more likely than white, Latinx, and Asian/Pacific Islander women to die during pregnancy and childbirth according to CDC figures.