History and Health

In Virginia, black women have a 2.3-fold higher rate of pregnancy-associated mortality compared with white women, even when controlling for confounding factors such as socioeconomic or education status.Links to an exteIn Richmond, infants born to black women die at a rate of 1.5 to 3 times more when compared with other races.Links to an external site. On the other hand, black women report lower quality of maternal health care received. For example, VCU Health patient experience surveys show lower satisfaction in quality of care for black patients, such as communication with clinicians, understanding how to manage their health, and perceived respect from nursing staff, when compared with white patients on the maternal inpatient ward (VCU Health Department of Patient Centered Services, email communication, June 2021). This module will enlighten the reader about historical and current reasons as to why black women experience poorer quality care and worse outcomes in pregnancy as well as the main ways racism impacts the care of black patients in general.