The Black Maternal Mortality Rate: Furthering the Discussion on the Deadly Symptomatic Reflections of Structural Racism on Black Mothers and Analyzing State-Level Policies' Effectiveness in Lowering the Black Maternal Mortality Rate

Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

James Old

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Political Science and International Relations

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-25-2024

Abstract

In the US, Black women are more likely to die during pregnancy when compared to their White counterparts. Black Maternal Mortality is not only a vast issue nationwide but a challenging one to solve. Previous research has identified structural racism as a primary factor in the Black Maternal Mortality Rate. This form of racism in the preconception, prenatal, and postpartum periods can turn into deadly symptoms that are problematic to the mother's health. Most existing research has developed from this root cause and turned to national-level policies as key to rectifying this problem. However, there has been little focus on how state-level policies can fight against structural racism and lower the Black Maternal Mortality Rate. This gap in research presents an issue because states can strengthen or weaken their individual policies based on national standards thus affecting the level of help given to Black mothers. Through this paper, I will work to close that gap by examining the effectiveness of state-level policies and determining if measures presented in them lower the Black Maternal Mortality Rate. First, I will examine previous literature on the causes of Black Maternal Mortality to show the importance of a state-wide policy analysis. Second, by running a multiple linear regression I will examine whether current state-wide policies are effectively lowering the Black Maternal Mortality Rate. I believe that states which have expanded Medicaid coverage, including doula and midwife services, and have implemented implicit bias training for healthcare professionals will have the lowest Black Maternal Mortality Rates.

Keywords: Structural Racism, Black Maternal Mortality Rate, Policymaking, Maternal Mortality, Maternal Morbidity, Pregnancy-related death

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Allison Howard is a senior International Relations and Chinese & Japanese Studies student at Valparaiso University. Her decision to write on the Black Maternal Mortality Rate comes from her passion for shining a light on issues that affect Black women. She is expected to graduate in May 2024 and will be attending the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, in the fall, to pursue her Juris Doctor.

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