Academic Medicine Open Forum

Sunday, January 23, is Maternal Health Awareness Day-intended to bring awareness to the country's maternal mortality crisis

Some stats:

• The United States is the only developed country in the world with a rising maternal mortality rate. 
• Approximately 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. Racial inequities contribute to that disparity: 
• Black patients die during and after pregnancy at a rate three times higher than white patients.
• American Indian and Alaska Native patients die at a rate two times higher than white patients. 
• The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to recent maternal mortality rates; the virus is associated with increased risk of severe complications-including death-during pregnancy.

The AAMC's Center for Health Justice has created webinars on this topic and has other plans in the works. 

Courtesy of our friends at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we are sharing two great resources for additional learning on this topic:

• A postpartum toolkit for healthcare providers on racial disparities and maternal mortality (attached here)
• Policy priorities for eliminating maternal mortality, including resources on how to get involved on a national policy level and/or to improve maternal healthcare quality at your institution 

@Cynthia DeTata, @Robert Maupin, @Karey Sutton: are there any other tips or resources you'd recommend to this community?

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Penny Schnarrs
Virtual Communities Program Manager
Association of American Medical Colleges
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Thanks so much for highlighting this important issue. AAMCNews recently ran an article about maternal health inequities and work that's being done to address them. In it, I was glad to share some impressive efforts.

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Stacy Weiner
Senior Staff Writer
Association of American Medical Colleges
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-21-2022 09:52
From: Penny Schnarrs
Subject: For Your Learning Friday: Maternal health resources

Sunday, January 23, is Maternal Health Awareness Day-intended to bring awareness to the country's maternal mortality crisis

Some stats:

• The United States is the only developed country in the world with a rising maternal mortality rate. 
• Approximately 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. Racial inequities contribute to that disparity: 
• Black patients die during and after pregnancy at a rate three times higher than white patients.
• American Indian and Alaska Native patients die at a rate two times higher than white patients. 
• The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to recent maternal mortality rates; the virus is associated with increased risk of severe complications-including death-during pregnancy.

The AAMC's Center for Health Justice has created webinars on this topic and has other plans in the works. 

Courtesy of our friends at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we are sharing two great resources for additional learning on this topic:

• A postpartum toolkit for healthcare providers on racial disparities and maternal mortality (attached here)
• Policy priorities for eliminating maternal mortality, including resources on how to get involved on a national policy level and/or to improve maternal healthcare quality at your institution 

@Cynthia DeTata, @Robert Maupin, @Karey Sutton: are there any other tips or resources you'd recommend to this community?

​​​

------------------------------
Penny Schnarrs
Virtual Communities Program Manager
Association of American Medical Colleges
------------------------------