Reducing Maternal Mortality Disparities: Addressing its Roots in Racialized Pseudoscience

Abstract

Despite being one of the most developed nations in the world, the United States continues to suffer from disparities in healthcare. An important but overlooked reason stems from racially motivated ideologies within the medical field that correspond to higher rates of complications and deaths for groups of people. According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on maternal mortality rates in 2020, the rate of deaths for non-Hispanic Black women was almost three times the mortality rate of non-Hispanic White women.1 However, according to a second report by the CDC looking at data from 2008-2017, two-thirds of these pregnancy-related deaths were preventable.2 This discrepancy in maternal deaths among Black women is a detrimental consequence of pseudoscientific ideologies that have plagued the development of biology’s foundational beliefs, the U.S. legislative system, and the inequality of care in medical procedures. To mitigate this disparity, the political, scientific, and medical communities need to address the pervasiveness of racialized pseudoscience. Following this acknowledgment, systematic change must occur in these various domains to protect the rights of Black women, especially during pregnancy and labor.

Note:

Funding Information: No funding was received for this article.

Conflict of Interests: There are no competing interests to declare.

Keywords: Pseudoscience, Maternity, Healthcare Disparities