Every year, between 700 and 900 women suffer a pregnancy-related death in the United States. Even more concerning is that a significant portion of these deaths are preventable.
In addition, for every death, more than a hundred women experience a severe pregnancy complication, such as a blood clot, blood transfusion, a hemorrhage, or a seizure during their delivery hospitalization. And significant racial disparities exist in both rates of maternal deaths and severe complications related to pregnancy.
In November 2018, Elizabeth Howell, MD, MPP, the founding Director of The Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, gave a TEDMED talk that explored maternal mortality, severe complications of pregnancy, and race in the United States.
“The shocking thing is that our maternal mortality rate in the United States is actually higher than all other high-income countries, and the numbers are far worse for women of color. Our rate of maternal deaths has actually increased over the last decade while other countries have reduced their rates. And here’s the biggest paradox of all: we spend more on health care than any other country in the world.”
In her talk, Dr. Howell, who is also Vice Chair of Research and Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, and Professor of Population Health Science and Policy, describes current statistics, the magnitude of the racial disparities that exist, and national efforts currently in place aimed at reducing maternal death, severe complications and disparities.