• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · News

Why Are More Black Women Dying In Childbirth?

While America marvels at supermoms like Kate Gosselin and Octomom, new findings from New York City data and Amnesty International show that when it comes to giving birth many Black women aren't so lucky and are increasingly dying in childbirth. Reading these statistics I thought: Childbirth? Really? In one of the world's most industrialized nations? It can't be...
By Yolanda Sangweni · Updated October 29, 2020
pregnant-woman-rubbing-belly.jpg
While America marvels at supermoms like Kate Gosselin and Octomom, new findings from New York City data and Amnesty International show that when it comes to giving birth many Black women aren’t so lucky and are increasingly dying in childbirth. Reading these statistics I thought: Childbirth? Really? In one of the world’s most industrialized nations? It can’t be. And yet new statistics are slowly revealing a truth we may not want to face, namely that a lack of proper healthcare, higher rates of obesity, diabetes and C-section complications are putting us at a greater risk of pregnancy-related complications. In New York City, recent vital statistics on maternal mortality show that Black women are eight times more likely than White women to die in childbirth. That’s 79 in every 100,000 Black women as compared to 10 in every 100,000 White women. Nationwide Black women are four times more likely to die, according to Amnesty International, despite the US spending more money on maternal health than any other country in the world.  I tried for a minute to imagine how many women even consider that they might die shortly before, during, or after childbirth. It seems so last century, or even “Third World” right? Wrong. We may spend a lot of time bemoaning the healthcare conditions pregnant women in so-called “Third World” countries have to deal with. In fact, maternal mortality rates in the rest of the world are way down, according to a new report from the Lancet medical journal. Black women make up nearly 12% of the population and yet we account for 50% of maternal deaths in the United States. This is a shameful statistic for an industrialized nation (heck, in Italy it’s 3 per 100,000 deaths) considering that maternal mortality is preventable. Why are we not shouting from the mountaintops about this appalling trend? Related stories:
  • Maternal Deaths For Black Women ‘Scandalous’
  • C-Section Births Among Black Women On the Rise
  • Is Abortion Being Made a Black Woman’s Issue?
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now