“The 2020 maternal mortality data released today shows that our country’s maternal and infant public health emergency is getting appreciably worse. Both the rate of women dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, and the disparities in who is affected, are growing. In 2020, Black and Hispanic moms had significantly higher rates of maternal mortality than others. This is truly alarming, absolutely horrifying news.
“The new study finds that maternal mortality in our nation increased from 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 23.8 in 2020. Moms of color accounted for the increase. Maternal deaths among Black women rose from 44 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 55 in 2020. One-third of the pregnant women and new mothers who died in 2020 were Black – much higher than our percentage of the population. Black women now face nearly a three times higher risk of maternal mortality than white women.
“America’s moms are appalled that our maternal mortality rate remains much higher than that of every other industrialized country and that it is getting worse, as are the disparities. Too many mothers are losing their lives during childbirth. We want Congress to pass the Momnibus Act this year. It includes funds to address social determinants of health, support diversification of the perinatal health workforce, provide grants to improve maternal mental health, strengthen federal maternal health programs, and support anti-bias trainings for health care professionals. Its enactment will save lives and improve the health of mothers and babies. It is long, long overdue.”