COVID-19 is amplifying tragedy across America. After all this, let’s rebuild on a foundation that recognizes & corrects for structural biases like urbanism and racism that have replicated health inequities for decades. THREAD (1/n) usnews.com/news/healthies… Rural America is no stranger to limited access to needed care. Prior to COVID-19, rural hospitals and obstetric units were shutting their doors, causing some women to travel for hours to give birth, and increasing the risk of complications. 2/n usnews.com/news/healthies…

MY HEART IS BROKEN. Stephanie Snook, a member of the Tsimshian and Tlingit tribes, died giving birth. She had been working to bring attention to the issue of Indigenous women dying in childbirth. THREAD (1/7)
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/s… Maternal death disrupts the cycle of life in a deeply destructive way, affecting communities, across generations. The tragic burden of lost mothers falls heaviest on Black, rural, and Indigenous families. (2/7)

My colleagues @DrDaraDMendez @e_hernandez8 @Theresa_chapple and I share our view on what’s needed to reduce maternal mortality in this @Health_Affairs blog: implementation, representation, and legislation 1/ healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hbl… All of us currently serve or formerly served on maternal mortality review committees in the states of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia, and Tennessee. 2/

In the United States, maternal mortality has been rising for decades. In this month’s @Health_Affairs, I write about my family’s story. The effects of maternal mortality last for generations, and it’s time to reverse the rise. 1/n healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hl… From 1990-2013, maternal mortality nearly doubled in the US, while it declined elsewhere across the globe. The US stands shamefully alone, and it’s getting ever more deadly to become a mother in America. 2/n thelancet.com/journals/lance…