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Developing Tools to Report Racism in Maternal Health for the CDC Maternal Mortality Review Information Application
Rachel R Hardeman1, Anna Kheyfets2, Allison Bryant Mantha3
1Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity, Division of Health Policy Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE MMC 729, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. Hard0222@umn.edu.
Maternal and Child Health Journal
|January 4, 2022
Summary
A multidisciplinary workgroup defined racism to improve tracking of its contribution to maternal mortality. This work aims to reduce preventable pregnancy-related deaths by informing policies and practices.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Equity
- Maternal Health
Background:
- Black women in the U.S. face a nearly fourfold higher risk of pregnancy-related death.
- Racism is identified as a fundamental cause of maternal health inequities.
- Approximately 60% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development of a racism definition for the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA).
- To ensure the definition is appropriate for identifying racism's role in maternal mortality.
Main Methods:
- A multidisciplinary workgroup, with CDC Foundation and maternal health expert input, convened to define racism.
- The workgroup established goals to create an inclusive, historically aware, and user-friendly definition.
- The definition is intended for use by Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) via the MMRIA.
Main Results:
- Four key goals guided the definition process, focusing on inclusivity, acknowledging systemic racism, combating victim-blaming narratives, and ensuring user-friendliness.
- The workgroup developed three specific definitions of racism and discrimination.
- Recommendations for interventions were created for MMRCs to address racism as a factor in maternal deaths.
Conclusions:
- The defined terms will enable systematic tracking of racism's contribution to maternal mortality using the MMRIA.
- Standardized identification of racism across jurisdictions using MMRIA will be enhanced.
- This effort supports informed practices and policies to prevent maternal mortality.