Thread by @SarahRiggsAmico

1/thread on #MaternalMortality

@harvardmed Professor Dr. Neel Shah to @HarvardHealth:

American #women today are 50% MORE likely to die in childbirth than our mothers were & “the risk is consistently 3 to 4 times higher for black women than white women...”health.harvard.edu/blog/a-soaring…

2/x- The disturbing racial disparities in America’s #MaternalHealth outcomes mirror racial inequality among our nation’s infant mortality rates.

The @CDCgov found the infant mortality rate for black babies in our nation is TWICE that of white babies. ajc.com/news/national/…

3/x- Per @BrookingsInst:
“this is not just a poverty story. Babies born to well educated, middle-class black mothers are more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born to poor white mothers with less than a high school education”

4/x- “The United States is one of only 13 countries in the world where the rate of #maternalmortality — the death of a woman related to pregnancy or childbirth up to a year after the end of pregnancy — is now worse than it was 25 years ago.“
nytimes.com/2018/04/11/mag…

5/x- #Georgia has the nation’s highest #MaternalMortality in America - and the problem appears to be worsening.

As the daughter of a former NICU nurse (& mom to 2 daughters), this shocked me so much that I included it in our campaign commercial last Fall.ajc.com/news/state--re…

6/x- For Georgia women, especially African-Americans & those living in the 79 GA counties with no OB/GYN, these stats are not just numbers. They are friends, neighbors & family —women whose simple desire to have a family is putting their lives at risk. ajc.com/news/local/fig…

7/x- #MaternalMortality can be reduced by investing in public health infrastructure, better data on #MaternalHealth & improved access to #healthcare for women.

California reduced its maternal death rate 55% in 4 yrs.

#Georgia could do the same. #gapol
self.com/story/californ…