On May 19, Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) stated in an interview with Politico opinions regarding the high maternal mortality rate in Louisiana.
In his statement, Cassidy said that “About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.”
This statement is insensitive to and ignores the plight of Black women and their families who, considering the statistics, reasonably fear death and or severe illness from a pregnancy. In addition, it undermines the efforts of AWHONN members who work tirelessly day in and day out at the forefront of this crisis.
Across the country, about 700 women die each year due to pregnancy-related complications and Black women face a disproportionately high rate of maternal mortality, nearly three times that of white women. Louisiana ranks nearly at the bottom in US maternal mortality statistics, with Black women in the state experiencing a maternal mortality rate four times higher than that of white women.
Correcting the population data for the sake of improving a state’s statistics tells an inaccurate story and whitewashes the severity of this issue for Black women and other women of color. Black women are members of the Louisiana community and should be counted as such when retelling the story of the maternal mortality issues and the Black maternal mortality crisis. Instead of simply adjusting the data, we need to address the underlying causes that will bring about positive health outcomes for all.
We urge Sen. Cassidy to sit with AWHONN members and other maternal health leaders, especially Black maternal health leaders, and Black women to better understand the implications of his comments. As an organization, AWHONN aims to continue its work centering the experiences and outcomes of Black women in addressing the maternal mortality and morbidity crisis. Follow our work at awhonn.org/birthequity.
