The state’s biennial maternal death report shows a wide gap in maternal outcomes between Black pregnant people and their white counterparts.
The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and Department of State Health Services Joint Biennial Report 2022 revealed that 90% of deaths could have been preventable. Data showed that Black pregnant people were twice as likely to die than their white counterparts.
The report was scheduled to be published in September 2022 but was not released until December 2022. Many doctors and experts believe that the delay was politically motivated. It came at a time when Texas ranks 43rd in maternal mortality.
What are lawmakers doing to close the disproportional gap in maternal mortality? What should incoming health professionals know about maternal mortality?
Guests:
- State Rep. Shawn Thierry
- Dani McClain, reporter on race and reproductive health. She is a contributing writer at The Nation, a Puffin Fellow with Type Media Center, and author of “We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood”
- Dr. Adeiyewunmi (Ade) Osinubi, filmmaker, emergency medicine resident physician, produced the documentary film "Black Motherhood through the Lens", and she raises awareness about health inequities
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*This interview was recorded on Thursday, January 19.