There is a global push to reduce maternal death. Unfortunately, the rates have risen within the United States, and the United States has the highest mortality rate within the developed world. The mortality rate for every 100,000 live births was 26.4 for the United States in comparison to 9.2 for the second highest country which was the United Kingdom. Maternal mortality refers specifically to “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 1 year of the end of a pregnancy –regardless of the outcome, duration or site of the pregnancy–from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes”. According to the CDC, more than half of these deaths can be prevented. Women of color are often at more danger because of the lack of access to capital, racism, and other factors. Between 2011 and 2013, the rations for deaths per 100,000 live births were 12.7 for white women, 43.5 for black women, and 14.4 for women of other races.
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pmss.html
One major reason for mortality rates is there is no consistent way to treat mothers during and following birth. The emphasis is placed on saving the child, which is shown by the large amount of funding and research that is put into saving the child. A lot of health care professionals will simply not be proactive with caring for mothers. This also changes based on a woman’s race, socioeconomic status, and citizenship status. Black women are 3 to 4 times as likely to die due to childbirth. For lower income women and women of color, the access to health care is lower. In a New York City study, it was observed that 63% of white patients gave birth in the safest hospitals while 23% of black patients gave birth in the safest hospitals. Women of color, especially, lower income ones are less likely to be insured. Non-US born women were 33% more likely to be uninsured while only 13% of US born women were likely to be uninsured.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/health/black-women-maternal-mortality/index.html
