Fetal death rate is twice as high among Black mothers

FETAL MORTALITIES BY STATE, PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS, BETWEEN 2015-2017. (CDC)

Black women are twice as likely to experience stillbirth as Hispanic or white women, according to new CDC data. The U.S. fetal mortality rate between 2015-2017 was six deaths per 1,000 live births — but that figure was 11.2 deaths per 1,000 births for Black women, and around 5 deaths per 1,000 births for Hispanic and white women. The rate among Black women in New Jersey, West Virginia, and Mississippi was higher still, at around 17 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Efforts are underway to address these disparities faced by Black mothers, but OB-GYN Leslie Farrington writes in a new STAT First Opinion that the medical community must "recognize and eliminate racism, patriarchy, and elitism in medicine so all women can experience safe and effective and respectful maternity care."