When a mother or child endures a birth injury, it is almost always a traumatic experience for everyone involved. Mothers carry babies for nine whole months, during which time an unbreakable bond is formed.
Unfortunately, healthcare in America is not created equal for all people. Some are more likely to receive better care than others. As a result, certain groups are more likely to sustain injuries due to medical negligence.
Whether we want to address it or not, there are significant racial disparities in American healthcare when it comes to birth injuries.
Here are the details you should know:
Black Mothers & Babies Experience Birth Injuries 3x More Often Than Whites
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 41 out of every 100,000 Black women lose their lives as a result of childbirth. Compare that to 30 American Indian and Alaska Native Women, and just 13 White women.
These Disparities Are Consistent In Every State
Every state in the U.S. experiences racial disparities regarding birth injuries. Even in states with low pregnancy-related mortality ratios (PRMRs), the average disparity ratio is 3.0, which means that the PRMR for Black women is about three times as high as the PRMR for White women.
Education Doesn’t Play a Major Role
You may think that education plays a major role in PRMRs. While the pregnancy-related fatality rates decrease the more educated the mother is, the racial disparities are consistent.
As you can see in the graph below, Black college graduates are still more than three times as likely to lose their lives as a result of childbirth than Whites.
If you or your baby have been injured before, during, or after childbirth as a result of medical negligence, you may be owed compensation. Let us see if we can help you recover it.
