BILL: Should We Address Disparities in Maternal Care? - Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act - S.1606

I feel we should give the medical system a whole overall. Keep the good doctors. The ones people know of any bad doctors are bad , let the main office. Or you can ask  to talk to the head doctor. They will first to Patient  help. That's Not the head doctor. That's just a doctor who will Work with your doctor to Ask them what the doctor wants. No help. You have to ask, not with a threatening , but an usurtive  voice. Big phara needs an overal as well. 

I support all measures to address the maternal mortality rate which is 3X the next highest country (France) among all developed countries, and has only increased, with rates for black women 3X that of white woman. However, the 1st and most important measure is Medicaid expansion in the 10 states that have list it when COVID emergency measures ended which would at least make telehealth maternal healthcare available in states and counties lacking it.

7M women in 1,119 counties live in maternal healthcare deserts with no access to maternal healthcare which are primarily rural areas and have experienced a 2% increase since 2020 reflecting the impacts of COVID and abortion bans have had on health care over and above the existing problems of the shortage of healthcare workers and lack of Medicaid expansion.

In the US it’s rural areas that have lost obstetric care. In response Medicaid has added telehealth visits for maternal care but 10 states still have not added Medicaid expansion and are losing COVID related provisions of which 5 have the highest maternal mortality rates.

“Areas where there is low or no access affect up to 6.9 million women and almost 500,000 births across the U.S.”

“the nation’s maternal mortality rate increased from 17.4 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2018 to 23.8 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2020, with the rate for Black women nearly triple that of White women. The US has the highest maternal death rate among high-income countries—nearly 3-fold higher than France, the country with the second-highest maternal death rate.”

“more than 400 maternity services closed between 2006 and 2020. Between March and June 2022 alone, 11 health systems announced they were closing their obstetric services, citing low birth volumes and staffing challenges. As birthing units close, obstetricians and nurse-midwives are more likely to leave the area, exacerbating “maternity care deserts.”

“Maternity services are especially scarce in rural areas. Between 2004 and 2014, 9% of rural counties lost hospital maternity services; another 45% had no maternity services to begin with. Rural areas have greater proportions of Medicaid recipients than urban areas, with Medicaid paying substantially lessthan private insurers for child birthing. Ongoing closures of rural health services impede hospitals’ abilities to improve maternal and infant outcomes.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2800629

https://www.marchofdimes.org/maternity-care-deserts-report

White nationalist or white supremacy does not matter white men are the same!

Take action now all women need access to prenatal care, OBGYN'S and a fully acredited hospital. There should be no disparities., fewer deaths.

ALL CONGRESS who voted to overturn Roe vs wade SHOULD BE AFFIRMING THIS!!! WE will be watching and asking them.

Just to bad when we vote for our congressional members and our Presidents, all that they said they would do, would come true. Instead they jump on the band wagon for their party. Forgetting their constituents. We need money coming from taxes to support our medical care. When we have these disparities in health care, it shows that our elected congressional folks are collecting a great paycheck, forgetting their constituents. Our medical care should be the best in the world, there should be no difference in which doctor or hospital you use. They should all be the same care. Oops! I must have been dreaming for a moment. My daughter majored in the medical field in college. As their learning, they had to perform internships at various hospitals. That is where she learned the difference between a hospital working mostly with low to middle income and the wealthy income hospitals. This is wrong. She still works in the medical field, and yes nothing has changed. Sad, the supposedly richest country in the world and the major differences we have for medical care. 

Almost every problem that Americans face, when you disegregate the data, it's always worse for the black population (ie. prison, drop out rate, gun violence, unemployment, etc.) Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Since Republicans "care" about life, I'm sure they'll be onboard Senator Booker. 

Senators,
Please support Senator Booker's Bill S.1606 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/160

While I believe maternity is not just a race issue, but an economic issue, it is more important than ever to deal with this issue as best as possible. 

Best.

Obviously not smarter !!!!

Wouldn't we support our mums , it is never to late

Black women have maternal mortality rates 3X higher which increase in 2020 due to COVID and in 2021 due to abortion bans along with other races.

Factors contributing to higher maternal mortality rates in black women even before COVID and abortion bans are

1) low birth weight

2) pre-term babies

3) receiving pre-natal care late in pregnancy (last trimester) or not at all

"Black, AIAN, and NHOPI women are more likely than White women to have certain birth risk factors that contribute to infant mortality and can have long-term consequences for the physical and cognitive health of children. Preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks gestation) and low birthweight (defined as a baby born less than 5.5 pounds) are some of the leading causes for infant mortality. Receiving pregnancy-related care late in a pregnancy (defined as starting in the third trimester) or not receiving any pregnancy-related care at all can also increase risk of pregnancy complications. Black, AIAN, and NHOPI women have higher shares of preterm births, low birthweight births, or births for which they received late or no prenatal care compared to White women (Figure 3). Notably, NHOPI women are four times more likely than White women to begin receiving prenatal care in the third trimester or to receive no prenatal care at all (19% vs. 5%). Black women also are nearly twice as likely compared to White women to have a birth with late or no prenatal care compared to White women (9% vs. 5%)."

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/

This is a Life and Death Problem.  

It will never get better by trying to ignore it.  

It won't get better by closing our eyes and denying the Racial Disparity in Maternal Mortality is a Race-Based Problem!  

Race-Based Problems require acknowledging that Race Matters.  

Then figuring out Exactly HOW it matters!  

What is different in the care of pregnant Black women compared to pregnant White women?  

I suspect a large part of the problem is related to Prenatal Care--the visits early in pregnancy.  When do they start?  How detailed are they?  What ancillary tests are run?  How well are pre-existing conditions kept under control? Do both groups get the same preventive care?  Really?  

Find out what the differences are--THEN CORRECT THE DEFICIENCIES!