Abstract
Background
Despite advances in perinatal care in the USA, maternal mortality is on the rise, and maternal death is higher than in any other high-income country. Maternal mortality in the USA is a persistent public health concern. This issue disproportionately affects Black/African American women, with their likelihood of pregnancy-related death being three times more likely compared to White women. This study aimed to explore the resources needed for Black/African American women to address the relatively higher maternal mortality rates recorded for them.
Methods
An anonymous link with demographic and open-ended questions was sent to US women 18 years and older to participate in the study. A total of 140 participants responded to the survey. We retained a final sample of 118 responses after eliminating responses with missing data. Descriptive statistics are reported for closed-ended items. Open-ended responses were analyzed using content analysis procedures, where we coded and categorized the data into themes.
Results
Six themes were identified from the study data: (1) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training for health providers focused on racial bias and discrimination, (2) Advocacy, (3) Provider selection, (4) Researching doctors and delivery hospitals to inform women’s birthing decision-making, (5) Women’s care-seeking behaviors, and (6) Addressing the Social Determinants of Health.
Conclusion
Based on the study’s findings, we recommend DEI training for healthcare professionals providing direct care to pregnant and postpartum women, advocacy and resource-awareness training for pregnant Black/African American women and their spouses/partners, or a family member, to assist them in their pregnancy and birthing journeys.
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Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
This study conception and design was done by CO. CO and FJ contributed to the material preparation. Data collection was done by CO, FJ, and DB. Data analysis was performed by CO, FJ, DB, and KAB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CO. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conceptualization: CO; methodology: CO, FJ, DB; data analysis: CO, FJ, DB, and KAB; writing—original draft preparation: CO; writing—review and editing: CO, FJ, DB, and KAB; supervision: CSO
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Ethics Approval
This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Indiana University Institutional Review Board (Protocol #17663, Date 12/05/2022)
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Appendix. Black women’s woes research study–questionnaire
Appendix. Black women’s woes research study–questionnaire
Part 1. Eligibility and informed consent
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Q1. Do you currently live in the US?
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Yes
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No
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Q2. Are you 18 years or older?
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Yes
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No
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***********Informed Consent Statement*************
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Q3. Do you consent to participate in this study?
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Yes, I consent to participate in this study
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No, I do not consent to participate in this study
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Part 2. Socio-demographic information
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Q4. Which of the following best describes you?
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Asian or pacific Islander
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Black or African American
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Hispanic or Latino
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Native American or Alaskan Native
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White or Caucasian
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Multiracial or Biracial
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A race or ethnicity not listed here; Please specify
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Q5. In which U.S. state do you currently reside?
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Dropdown response option to select state of residence
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Q6. I am a mother/parent
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Yes
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No
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Part 3. Black/African American maternal mortality
Preamble: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines maternal mortality as the death of a woman during pregnancy, at delivery, or soon after delivery. We adopt this definition throughout the current survey.
Black/African American U.S. women are 2-3 times more likely to die from pregnancy, delivery and postpartum complications compared to women of other races.
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Q7. In your view, what can be done to help reduce the maternal mortality rate among Black women?
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Textbox provided to participants for response
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Q8. What advice would you give to pregnant Black/ African American women concerning their maternal health?
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Textbox provided to participants for response
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Obeng, C.S., Jackson, F., Brandenburg, D. et al. Black/African American Women’s Woes: Women’s Perspectives of Black/African American Maternal Mortality in the USA. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01883-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01883-0