Healthy Births, Healthy Moms: Black Maternal Health in America

Through reporting and writing by Women’s eNews’ team, we have uncovered the central fact that extremely little research is available that would explain “why black moms die more often.”

African American families experience the death of a new mother three to four times more often than white families. Public health experts estimate that half of these deaths are avoidable and the ratio has not changed since the 1940s. At the same time, African American mothers’ rates of breastfeeding remain relatively low, a missed opportunity to improve the health of mothers and infants. This series explores how the health system influences what is termed “health disparities.”

This series is made possible with support from the Kellogg Foundation.