LANSING, Mich. (April 14, 2021) — Sen. Erika Geiss (D–Taylor) has introduced Senate Resolution 39 to recognize April 11 through 17, 2021 as Black Maternal Health Week.
“At no other time have the true inequities in our health care system been laid so bare before our eyes,” Sen. Geiss said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth a reckoning regarding the implicit bias and systemic racism that continues to affect the quality of care that people of color receive in our state and around the country.”
According to data collected from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Black mothers in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Even more alarming, there are 42 deaths for Black mothers and 13 deaths for white mothers for every 100,000 American women’s deaths nationally, In Michigan, Black women experience 21 deaths for every 100,000 live births, as compared to 9 deaths for white women.
“For Black mothers, the true cost of the system’s inhumanity has shown itself for decades in the embarrassingly poor health outcomes of people in our community,” Sen. Geiss added. “These outcomes are directly linked to the care they receive. I hope that this resolution will help more people understand the root causes of detrimental maternal health outcomes across race. We can work together to end medical- and healthcare-racism and move forward on positive, transformational, and revolutionary solutions that improve the health of Black mothers and Black birthing people here not only here in Michigan but across our country.”
As of January 2020, the U.S. has the highest maternal death rate in the developed world, with Michigan ranking 30th out of all 50 U.S. states.
The resolution was adopted on April 14th by the Michigan Senate.
###