Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/series/black-maternal-health-of-new-york-city/)
New York hospitals provide formula to supplement breastfeeding at a rate that puts them among the highest in the nation. The city’s Latch On NYC initiative is an attempt to change that.
The acquittal verdict in Florida has led to a maternal outpouring. “Black mothers around this country are once again potential Mamie Tills,” said one woman in a Frisky story, referring to the mother of Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955.
Why do African American women in New York City die during childbirth nearly eight times as often as the city’s new white mothers?
How could this be in a city with public hospitals available to all?
The story Women’s eNews published in April 2010 that reported this health disparity stunned the team that has been working for more than 2 years to cover the maternal and infant health of African Americans for more than two years.
Embolism is a major danger of pregnancy. But recent data from New York City finds black women dying from it in numbers that are startling, given the well-known interventions. A disparity in health care could be the culprit, but no one is asking.
A small study of maternal deaths in New York City rings loud warning bells for pregnant African American women. Experts offer ideas on lowering some of the deadliest risks for all women: hypertension, C-section, embolism and pre-eclampsia.
Finding out why so many more African American women die in childbirth starts with keeping statistics and spotting problems in hospitals. Right now there is no federal requirement to report maternal deaths so remedies are hard to prescribe.
New York’s high rate of maternal mortality exposes glaring risks for black women. But a detailed 2010 city report eliminated many usual suspects for the maternal morality gap: poverty, obesity, pre-existing conditions. The first story of a series.
New York City statistics include the troubling finding that black women here are nearly eight times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white mothers. Efforts to explain the trend appear nonexistent.