black women are almost three times more likely to die This is due to pregnancy-related causes more than in white women. This increased risk exists regardless of education or income level. Black mothers are also twice as likely to experience serious complications during pregnancy.
The reasons for this disparity are various. The root cause is centuries of racism that affect the conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age.
Our policymakers and institutions cannot solve these problems quickly or easily. But health leaders and policymakers can take faster steps to improve Black maternal health.
Black maternal health challenges
Many factors contribute to the Black maternal and child health crisis. Among them are:
- Poor quality care: According to research Black patients receive lower quality health care than white patients. Due to prejudice and structural racism against Black patients, some pregnant Black patients Their pain and concerns are likely to be ignored.they have 53% increased risk You can die in a hospital, regardless of your income level or insurance status.
- Insurance status: black race almost twice as likely To be uninsured like white people. They have a harder time getting the care they need. This is especially a problem during pregnancy, when regular care helps maintain the health of mother and baby.
- Unmet social health needs: black women are more likely to have unmet social health needs food, housing, transportation, etc. compared to white women and men. This impacts the health of Black people and can prevent them from receiving care. For example, Black parents might take public transportation to get to a prenatal appointment. If the city stops providing bus service in the neighborhood, you will not be able to attend doctor’s appointments, and the health of you and your baby will be compromised.
Improving care for pregnant Black people
Two ways healthcare organizations can take immediate action to improve Black maternal health is by focusing on quality of care and making access to care more equitable.
One example is Kaiser Permanente’s Obstetric Hypertension Program. This program is for patients who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, or who are at risk of developing high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is Leading causes of death during and after pregnancy.that Impacts on black mothers during pregnancy occur at a much higher rate than white mothers.
Here’s how our Obstetric Hypertension Program works:
- Patients in the program receive regular in-person prenatal visits. However, they may also perform more frequent blood pressure monitoring and care check-ins through remote patient monitoring using telephone or video visits.
- Patients receive a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor to use at home. They learn when and how to measure blood pressure. Measurements are sent to your electronic health record.
- The patient will be notified if the blood pressure reading is high. The doctor will instruct the patient whether to have their blood pressure checked again or to receive treatment.
- The patient’s care team tracks the patient’s measurements in the electronic medical record. This way, the doctor can adjust the patient’s blood pressure medication if necessary. Alternatively, your doctor may recommend giving birth early if you are at high risk.
Home monitoring is especially helpful for patients who cannot find reliable transportation to their doctor.this is Challenges Black Patients Face More Often than white patients.
The Obstetric Hypertension Program was first offered by the Kaiser Permanente team in Georgia in 2019. We’re expanding that everywhere we provide care.
When the Georgia team piloted the program, 736 pregnant women, the majority of whom were black, participated. Of these patients, 36 underwent induced labor due to hypertension.
If our treatment team had not closely monitored these patients, they would have been at high risk for dangerous complications such as seizures, bleeding, and stroke.
Our Obstetric Hypertension Program and other quality and access to care initiatives promise to keep at-risk pregnant and postpartum people safer and avoid potentially deadly complications. To do. These are important strategies that health care leaders can use to improve the health of Black mothers.
Role of policy makers
Meanwhile, policymakers need to address issues of insurance coverage, access to care, and support for social health needs.
Policymakers need to:
- Expand Medicaid coverage. All uninsured people have a hard time getting treatment. Black Americans are more likely to be uninsured than white Americans. People who had Medicaid during pregnancy often lose their coverage shortly after giving birth. Many people die during this period. State policymakers should support extending Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage to 12 months after birth. Policymakers also need to streamline enrollment and expand enhanced tax credits for people who purchase insurance through the health insurance marketplace. This will help your family get insurance.
- Improve access to telemedicine and virtual care. As our experience at Kaiser Permanente shows, telemedicine and virtual care (including remote patient monitoring) can make life easier for pregnant women who don’t have reliable transportation or can’t take time away from their own responsibilities to see a doctor. It can be a line. Kaiser Permanente is urging the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to establish a demonstration project that would be a way for the federal government to test new models of health care payment and delivery. The project should assess whether providing telephone or video visits during and after pregnancy reduces racial disparities in health outcomes. Policymakers also need to continue funding broadband expansion for both unserved and underserved populations. The cost of access to the internet and devices should be subsidized for low-income people.
- Addressing unmet social health needs. Policy makers should support policies that address the unmet social health needs of pregnant people. Black people are less likely than white people to have stable housing, nutritious food, and reliable transportation.legislative proposals such as Black maternal and child health law Monnibus law, will direct more resources to these needs. It will also support community-based organizations that work to improve health during pregnancy and develop and diversify the workforce that cares for pregnant people.
There are clear ways health care providers and policy makers can work together to improve Black maternal health. It is imperative that we take action.
