Contradictory findings on Black maternal health

Studies from the Lancet and from the UN come up with contradictory findings re: the direction of maternal health statistics worldwide, while New York City's own statistics indicate that Black women's maternal mortality rate is 8 times that of white women. Amusa writes in Women's eNews, "Data indicate that black Caribbean and African women living in New York City in particular have negative maternity experiences. Mothers from Guyana, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica and Nigeria are more likely to lose an infant than African American women. The stress of working-class immigrant life contributes to poor maternal health, as do fears of encountering a complicated hospital system, say some health leaders in New York City."

Persistently high maternal mortality among Black women is alarming whether worldwide or in the U.S.'s largest city. In terms of improving research to pinpoint key sources of the problem, the discrepancy between M.M. rates among African American and Black immigrant women supports the methodological approach of disaggregating data on these two groups.

Maternal death rates drop around the world

By David Brown

"The rate at which women die in childbirth or soon after delivery has fallen by about 40 percent since 1980, with dramatic reductions in the populous nations of India, China, Brazil and Egypt."

Lancet: Sharp drop in maternal deaths worldwide
By MARIA CHENG (AP):
"A separate report by a group headed by the United Nations reached a very different conclusion on maternal mortality, saying the figure remains steady at about 500,000 deaths a year."

NYC's Rising Black Maternal Mortality Unexplained

By Malena Amusa, WeNews correspondent, Sunday, April 18, 2010

"New York City statistics include the troubling finding that black women here are nearly eight times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white mothers. Efforts to explain the trend appear nonexistent."