NAACP Calls for Urgent Efforts to Address Black Maternal and Infant Mortality

WHEREAS, The United States has the highest maternal and infant mortality rates among wealthy nations, and recent research has interrogated the accuracy of deaths attributed to maternal mortality, the sobering fact remains that Black women and birthing people are up to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, and this elevated risk applies to Black women of all income and education levels according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and 

WHEREAS, The CDC defines maternal death as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days of giving birth from any cause related to or made worse by the pregnancy or its management, it is estimated that about 84% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable if women/birthing people have access to high quality health care. Studies have shown that Black women's biological age (i.e., the age of their cells and tissue and not their chronological age which is due to the number of years lived) can be up to 10 years older than that of their white counterparts, likely due to chronic stress and weathering caused by racism and sexism. And adding those 10 years is a significant risk factor because the risk of maternal death increases significantly with age; and

WHEREAS, Heart disease and stroke are believed to be among the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, and specifically cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of death one week to a year after delivery; however, these risk factors alone do not fully account for the racial gap in the outcome; and 

WHEREAS, Infants in the United States have a 76% higher risk of death compared with infants in other wealthy nations, and the mortality rate for Black infants is three times higher than for white infants (10.4 vs. 4.4 per 1,000) and nearly 1.5 times higher than for Pacific Islander babies, the second-highest mortality rate and African American infants are 3.2 times more likely than white infants to die from complications related to low birth weight; and 

WHEREAS, A growing number of research suggests that stress induced by discrimination plays a significant role in maternal and infant mortality. The impacts of institutional racism and sexism compromise women's health, leading to poorer outcomes for Black/AA women and infants; a fractured and unequal healthcare system and gaps in health care workforce training further aggravate these racial disparities; it is racism- not race- that threatens the lives of AAs/Black women and infants; and 

WHEREAS, Studies show that even those African American women who initiated prenatal care in the first trimester still had higher rates of infant mortality than non-Hispanic white women with late or no prenatal care. Once African American women accessed prenatal care, it tended to be of lower quality, and the women experienced more complications; and 

WHEREAS, Studies also focus on smoking, substance use disorder and obesity as drivers of maternal morbidity and mortality, numerous studies show that African American women are less likely to report smoking cigarettes versus non-Hispanic white women and are no more likely to use alcohol during their pregnancy; and 

WHEREAS, Studies also show that African American women receive lower quality health care generally, resulting in higher risk for mortality, which contributes to racial disparities in pregnancyrelated factors such as hypertension, anemia, gestational diabetes, obesity, and other conditions such as heart disease, HIV, AIDS, and cancer and African American infants receive lower quality care than non-Hispanic white infants within the same neonatal ICU. Studies also suggest inadequate bias training among healthcare workers, including reports from mothers that healthcare workers did not take their pain seriously, consistent with earlier findings that found pain in African American patients is often undertreated; and

WHEREAS, The 2019 Resolution introduced and passed at the National Convention addressed "Discriminatory Medical Practices Lead to High Maternal Death Rates Among African American Women," and the 2021 and 2022 Resolutions introduced and passed at the National Convention addressed "Improving Equitable Birth and Maternal Health Outcomes for Black Families" with a call for advocacy, passage, and full funding of the Momnibus Act of 2021, this Resolution specifically addresses the urgency of the matter and a STRONG CALL from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the NAACP calls to increase funding and development of diverse and inclusive collaborative focused on these issues, such as the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, to share best practices in maternal and child health and to elevate the lived experiences of those who have been disproportionately impacted to drive equitable solutions. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will strongly encourage federal, state and local leaders to conduct comprehensive data collection on maternal deaths and complications with data disaggregated by race, geography, and socioeconomic status; produce data sets that include information on social and emotional risk factors for women and infants of color; conduct better assessments and analysis on the impact of implicit bias, racism and toxic stress on pregnancy-related outcomes for women and infants of color; conduct research to identify best practices and effective interventions for improving the quality and safety of maternal care before and during pregnancy; support research that aims to better understand maternal risk factors centering the lived experiences of African American women and the effects of those experiences on pregnancy-related outcomes; examine meaningful ways and measures to advance health equity during pregnancy and postpartum in Black women. 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP acknowledges the urgency of this matter and will continue to advocate for and promote policies and programs that reduce maternal and infant mortality and related health disparities; also, all units are strongly encouraged to work with their state and local health systems and partners to address maternal and child health disparities.