Next week marks the tenth annual Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) from April 11 to 17, a pivotal moment for a movement that has spent a decade fighting to ensure Black mothers not only survive pregnancy and childbirth, but thrive. This annual week of advocacy by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance celebrates the resilience of Black-led organizations while confronting the stark reality that Black women in America continue to face life-threatening disparities in maternal care.
What is the state of Black maternal health in the US?
The statistics paint a sobering picture. In 2023, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births—nearly 3.5 times the rate for white women. Even more troubling, while maternal deaths decreased for all other racial and ethnic groups between 2022 and 2023, they continued to rise for Black women. The CDC estimates that more than 80 percent of these pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
The maternal health crisis extends far beyond mortality rates. Black women face disproportionate risks across nearly every aspect of reproductive health. They experience preterm births at rates 1.5 times higher than white or Hispanic women. They’re almost four times more likely to be hospitalized for fibroid-related issues and nearly seven times more likely to require surgical fibroid removal.
Cardiovascular complications pose another serious threat, with Black women experiencing preeclampsia and eclampsia at rates five times higher than their white counterparts. Mental health disparities compound these challenges—while 29 to 44 percent of Black women experience postpartum depressive symptoms, they are less likely to receive treatment compared to white women.
Cancer disparities add to the burden. Black women face higher incidence rates of cervical cancer and are more likely to die from both cervical and uterine cancer than other women in the United States.
What are the barriers to better Black maternal health outcomes?
The policy landscape has grown increasingly challenging. The reversal of Roe v. Wade has exacerbated disparities in abortion access, with 41 states now having abortion bans in effect as of January 2026. Black non-Hispanic women accounted for the highest proportion of abortions in 2022, making these restrictions particularly impactful for Black communities.
Healthcare access remains a fundamental challenge. Nationally, 12 percent of Black women lack health insurance coverage, compared to 7.6 percent of white women. With Medicaid paying for over 60 percent of births to Black mothers, recent policy changes—including new national work requirements added to Medicaid in July 2025—threaten to further restrict access to care.
There is also the problem of medical discrimination. Healthcare professionals, just like everyone else, can have personal biases such as racial prejudice and misogyny. Those biases can cause healthcare workers to view and treat their patients differently based on their race, gender, or other identities. Repeated experiences of discrimination in healthcare can cause patients to avoid or put off check-ups and medical treatments, which in turn can cause a host of other health issues.
There is some progress, however. As of May 2025, 46 states and the District of Columbia have taken steps toward Medicaid coverage for doula care, a critical support that can improve birth outcomes. Doula support not only leads to reduced birth complications and higher rates of breastfeeding, it also boosts new mothers’ postpartum mental health.
