Monday, November 22, 2021
Op. Ed. on "Shameful" Trends in Maternal Health
The New York Times ran an Op. Ed. on trends in maternal health containing very useful infographics to our communities and our classrooms depicting the "shameful" status of maternal health risks, particularly by geography and race. A few key statistics from the Op. Ed.:
- "One of every five women of reproductive age in Southern states live in counties with a high risk of death and other poor maternal health outcomes, such as post-partum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and preterm birth."
- "American Indian and Alaska Native are 2.6 times as likely as white women to live under conditions that create problems during and after pregnancy."
- "Black women are 1.6 times as likely as white women to live under these unfavorable conditions."
The Op. Ed visually and powerfully depicts in digestible and accessible ways how "a woman’s chance of a healthy pregnancy varies greatly depending on where she lives, based on factors such as whether she has a high school diploma, her exposure to poverty, her access to OB-GYNs and midwives, and her access to abortion clinics."
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/gender_law/2021/11/op-ed-on-shameful-trends-in-maternal-health-.html