01/05/2026
A Black certified nurse midwife died during childbirth yesterday.
That alone should stop us in our tracks.
Her death is heartbreaking. It deserves grief, respect, and honesty — not speculation.
Right now, many are explaining her death as only a result of systemic racism and not being listened to. That could be part of the story — but the truth is, we don’t know yet. No details have been released. And she was a highly respected clinician who likely understood risk and had a trusted care team.
Here’s what we do know:
🔹 Maternal mortality in the U.S. is rising across the board.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to around 32.9 in 2021.
🔹 Black women are significantly more likely to die in childbirth than white women, even after adjusting for education and income.
Black women in the U.S. experience maternal mortality at 2–3 times the rate of white women.
🔹 Chronic disease entering pregnancy is increasing.
Rates of chronic hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related complications that worsen pregnancy outcomes are rising in the general population.
🔹 Preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are on the rise, and both are associated with serious morbidity and mortality.
Yes — racism, discrimination, and bias in healthcare do matter and harm outcomes. Chronic stress — including allostatic load from lived discrimination — is linked to increased risk of complications.
But this tragedy also sits within a broader national crisis:
🔹 Americans overall are entering pregnancy with more metabolic and cardiovascular risk.
🔹 The U.S. maternal healthcare system lacks continuity, preventive focus, and early chronic disease management compared to peer countries.
🔹 Pregnancy is a physiologic stress test — and when baseline health is worse, outcomes are worse.
So yes — race and bias matter.
But the rising rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S. are a symptom of multiple, overlapping failures, not a single cause we can assign without the facts.
If we truly want to honor her life, we need to hold multiple truths at once.
Maternal Healthcare in the US is broken and must change.
