WHEN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE MEETS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Living as we do in a country beset by racial discrimination and medical malpractice, we are perhaps most horrified when the two overlap, particularly when they combine to kill mothers of color during childbirth, or to result in much higher rates of birth injuries and infant deaths among their babies. If you, your child or your spouse have suffered healthcare abuse or negligence for racial reasons, contact Hale & Monaco for respectful, compassionate legal representation.
NON-HISPANIC BLACK WOMEN ARE THREE TO FOUR TIMES
MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM PREGNANCY-RELATED CAUSES
THAN NON-HISPANIC WHITE WOMEN.
NON-HISPANIC BLACK WOMEN HAVE HAD THE FASTEST RATE OF INCREASE IN
MATERNAL DEATHS BETWEEN 2005 AND 2014 AND HAVE MATERNAL DEATH RATES UP TO 12 TIMES HIGHER
IN SOME CITIES THAN NON-HISPANIC WHITE WOMEN.
Each square represents one maternal death per 100,000 live births.
Each square represents
one maternal death
per 100,000 live births.
PREGNANCY-RELATED DEATH FOR BLACK WOMEN
IN SOME REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES IS SIMILAR
TO THE RISK FOR WOMEN IN SOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
A NATIONAL STUDY WHICH INVESTIGATED
PREGNANCY-RELATED MORTALITY
AMONG BLACK VERSUS WHITE
WOMEN FOUND THAT BLACK WOMEN HAD A CASE-FATALITY RATE 2.4 TO 3.3 TIMES HIGHER THAN THAT OF WHITE WOMEN FOR FIVE SPECIFIC
PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS:
Preeclampsia
a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys
Eclampsia
a serious but rare complication of pre-eclampsia, where high blood pressure results in seizures during pregnancy
ABRUPTIO PLACENTAE
an uncommon but serious condition when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus, blocking the baby's oxygen and nutrient supply and causing heavy bleeding in the mother
PLACENTA PREVIA
occurs when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the mother's cervix, causing severe bleeding during pregnancy and delivery
Preeclampsia
excessive bleeding after childbirth, affecting 1% to 5% of women
DATA SUGGEST THAT A WEB OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO (BUT DO NOT FULLY EXPLAIN) THE ELEVATED RATES OF SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AMONG RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY WOMEN.
LESS ACCESS TO PRENATAL CARE
HIGHER PREVALENCE OF COMORBIDITIES AND PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS
LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
HOSPITALS IN THE LOWEST TERTILE FOR MATERNAL MORBIDITY DELIVERED 65.3% of white DELIVERIES and 23.3% of all black DELIVERIES
IN A STUDY OF MATERNAL DEATHS,
46% OF BLACK MATERNAL DEATHS WERE CONSIDERED POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE.
33% OF WHITE MATERNAL DEATHS WERE CONSIDERED POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE.
CAUSES OF MATERNAL DEATH
CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS
HEMORRHAGE
INFECTION
HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY
