Key Takeaways:
– Multiple maternal health organizations call for the suspension of California’s Maternal Mortality Reduction Plan.
– Scaling the plan risks worsening existing inequities and puts excessive burden on individuals, advocacy groups claim.
– The plan does not recognize racism as a fundamental cause of maternal health inequities, as per critics.
– Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos assures commitment to improving maternal health outcomes.
– There is a significant racial disparity in maternal mortality rates, with Black women facing triple the deaths compared to white women.
Numerous advocates and organizations invovled in maternal health are requesting California’s Surgeon General postpone the proposed plan aiming at reducing maternal mortality. They claim it fails to adequately address the crisis, and instead, could likely amplify existing inequities.
Among the protesters are the California Black Women’s Health Project, Black Women for Wellness, and the California Nurse-Midwives Association. They decry the plan for applying excessive pressure on patients and neglecting to pinpoint and address racism as a fundamental determinant of disparities in maternal health.
The California Maternal Health Blueprint, revealed in September, proposes initiatives to lessen maternal deaths. One such approach is encouraging Californians of reproductive age to complete a survey assessing their risk of pregnancy complications.
In their October 21 letter to state Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos, the opposition groups argue the blueprint does acknowledge racial differences in maternal death rates, but fails to base its approach on substantial evidence, attributing systemic racism as the main driver.
Responding to the complaints, the office of the Surgeon General assured its dedication to partnering with allied organizations, with the aim of enhancing maternal health results, decreasing maternal mortality, and safeguarding the lives of expectant mothers and people in California.
Statistics illustrate that Black women in the state experience over triple the maternal mortality rate compared to white women. Factors contributing to this disparity include contrasting healthcare experiences, chronic health conditions, structural racism, and unconscious bias, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even affluent Black women face disparities, prompting researchers to focus on racial inequities in healthcare, patients’ experiences of bias and discrimination, and the physical impacts of chronic stress due to enduring racism over time.
In September, Dr. Ramos stated that previous efforts to curb maternal deaths in California primarily targeted healthcare settings, assisting the state in attaining the country’s lowest maternal mortality rate.
However, the rate of deaths concerning pregnancy and childbirth has increased significantly over recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite California being lauded for its effective system of reviewing maternal deaths.
The controversial Maternal Health Blueprint aims to have at least 50% of Californians of reproductive age fill out a risk-assessment questionnaire by December 2026. The opposing groups argue that this requirement deflects blame onto individuals and disregards the role of the system in perpetuating the crisis.
Citing a lack of research to support “personal risk assessment” as an effective measure to improve birth outcomes, the critics have concerns regarding the blueprint’s lack of clarity on future steps and the use of collected information.
Dana Sherrod, of the California Coalition for Black Birth Justice, states that excluding mentions of systemic racism indirectly places blame back onto patients. She stresses the continued poor outcomes for Black women, even when accounting for other factors.
A proposed solution in the California plan is for medical facilities to use the existing screening tool measuring the risk levels of pregnant patients, which can guide decisions about birth locations. However, the coalition warns that this could marginalize high-risk populations, overwhelm high-level facilities, and divert resources from struggling ones.
The coalition is seeking a meeting with Dr. Ramos and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom to express their concerns. A representative for Siebel Newsom revealed on Tuesday that her office was working to organize such a meeting.