April 11-17 is the third annual Black Maternal Health Week. This pandemic has made us focus on our entire healthcare system and now the world is seeing the disparities that many of us already knew were in the system. Now, the country and world are beginning to reckon with the many largely structural and systemic factors that contribute to poor maternal outcomes for women and birthing people, especially those of color. In an effort to illustrate the extent of the crisis, the conversation has largely focused on the statistics. And they are grave: Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than whitewomen. This is not acceptable, our mamas and babies deserve safe health and respect. We must continue to work after COVID-19 to reduce healthcare disparities for women of color. #BlackMamasMatter #ListenToBlackWomen
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