Black Mothers Matter: Combating the Maternal Mortality Epidemic

The Community's Conversation

Optimal Health Series

In Franklin County, Ohio, and across the U.S., there are long-standing racial disparities in maternal and birth outcomes, particularly between white and Black women. One of the most glaring determinates of inequity in U.S. healthcare can be seen in maternal birth rates. Based on the 2020 report Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States by The Centers for Disease Control, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women in 2020 was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women. It’s an equity gap that appears to be worsening. As highlighted in the award-winning 2022 documentary film Aftershock, Black birthing mothers face three-to-four times the mortality risk compared to their white counterparts. We uncover this epidemic in maternal health and highlight a way forward toward better and more equitable outcomes for all mothers.

This CMC forum features:

Jatu Boikai, Nurse Manager, Maternity Services, Mount Carmel Health System

Shawnee Benton-Gibson, Co-Founder and CEO, Spirit of a Woman Leadership Development Institute, and Co-Founder, ARIAH Foundation

Jessica Roach, CEO, Co-Founder, and Clinical Director, Restoring Our Own Through Transformation

Dorian Wingard, Co-Founder, COO, and Policy Director, Restoring Our Own Through Transformation,

The host is Commissoner Erica Crawley with the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.

CMC’s Optimal Health Series was sponsored by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Childrens' Hospital. This forum was sponsored by Cardinal Health, Mount Carmel Health System, and OhioHealth. The forum partner was The Franklin County Board of Commissioners and it was supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and by The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on August 23, 2023.