It may surprise you to learn that the United States has a higher maternal mortality rate than comparably developed and wealthy countries. It may surprise you even more to learn that, in spite of medical advancements, pregnancy and childbirth in our country have become more dangerous in recent years. For example, in 2021, 1,205 American women died of pregnancy-related causes, in comparison to 861 in 2020. While any amount of death is a tragedy, it is especially devastating when 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are known to be preventable.
Even more disturbing is the fact that, in the United States of America, black women are three times more likely to die from maternal causes than white women. This horrific disparity reflects not just the rampant inequality in our country’s healthcare system, but also the racial bias that still exists toward black women in medical and professional settings. These factors lead to black women being ignored and misdiagnosed, often leading to delayed care and preventable deaths.
There are countless examples of black women not being believed and properly treated in medical settings throughout our country’s history. The entire field of gynecology originated from the mistreatment of black women, with J. Marion Sims performing cruel experiments on enslaved women without anesthesia because he believed they had a higher pain tolerance. This absurd assumption still affects the way black women’s symptoms are assessed and responded to in the modern day. Another historical example is from the crack cocaine epidemic of the 80s, when black women were villainized for their “crack babies” that were supposedly a public health risk due to their potential for reduced intelligence and social skills. Many of these claims made by the government and independent studies have since been proven to be inflammatory or completely false. Many point to our country’s anti-drug campaigns as one of the origins of the mistrust of black women in pregnancy and childbirth.
The pattern of black mothers being mistreated and dismissed continues into modern day. One recent example occurred in Indiana in November of 2025, when Mercedes Wells, a black woman, was wheeled out of the hospital while in active labor. Wells was experiencing what she knew were contractions and begged the nurses not to send her home. She was discharged anyway and gave birth on the side of the road… eight minutes after leaving the hospital.
This example is one of many that illustrate the way that black mothers are still being mistrusted by medical professionals today, but the inequality of maternal healthcare in the US goes beyond one-on-one doctor/patient interactions, personal bias, or individuals being ignored. Our entire system is set up in a way that not only limits black women’s access to proper pre and postnatal care but sets them up for a more difficult life and journey to motherhood. This means that black women enter pregnancy already at a disadvantage, because they are more likely to lack affordable healthcare or suffer from underlying chronic conditions. Factors like less access to proper education, nutrition, housing, and transportation also contribute to the difficulties black mothers face during pregnancy and after.
Supporting black mothers and reducing the mortality rate will require tangible change in the form of healthcare standardization, improved prenatal and postnatal care, educational reform, and continued support after the child is born. Doctors must also be encouraged to address and adjust their own personal biases and the ways they may be contributing to a system that is detrimental to black mothers. Black mothers, and all mothers, deserve to be heard, respected, and protected, and it will benefit us all to work to create a system in which every mother has a chance not just to survive, but to thrive.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 