The Complicated Business of Giving Birth: Motherhood and Mortality

Here’s a not-so-fun and very frightening fact: Did you know that the U.S. has the highest rate of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth in the developed world, indiscriminately affecting women across races, backgrounds, educations and income levels? Did you know that over half of those deaths are preventable? And, if that news isn’t disturbing enough, did you know that black mothers are three to four times more likely to die than white mothers?

To address this—along with the glaring absence of black women from most conversations about reproduction, despite their higher mortality rates—nonprofit newsroom ProPublica launched its own maternal-health investigation. It’s called “Lost Mothers,” a survey involving nearly 200 black mothers and/or families who experienced severe complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

The survey—which includes answers from participants ages 6 to 64—is equally designed to gather information and to encourage difficult conversations between family members; a pdf of the questionnaire is available here. So far, the results have revealed rarely discussed but terrifying topics like postpartum hemorrhage, uterine rupture, spontaneous coronary artery dissection and peripartum cardiomyopathy.

The conversation is ongoing, and our voices are desperately needed to make pregnancy and childbirth a more survivable experience for everyone. In August, The Root partnered with ProPublica to encourage more black …

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