black: maternal
Infant & Youth Death
Become an Ambassador
Our Ambassadors are trained to provide "collective" support within the community. In addition, we have inherited an ALL HANDS ON DECK approach, with a strategy to generate the momentum needed to increase the ability to save the lives of black maternal women, infants, & youth.
become a advocate
WMHO's Community Avocates are the first line of defense against the mortalities and mobilities of black: maternal women, infants, and youth. They work to provide the protection, resources, and support needed to create positive maternal-infant outcomes and prevent youth suicide.
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Black maternal crisis
Black: maternal women, infants, and youth are dying in disproportionate numbers.
Black women face poor maternal health outcomes due to structural racism. These include alarmingly high rates of death from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
For instance, according to the CDC, black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. Additionally, while the mortality gap between black and white women is vast, some areas are more expansive than others. For example, although Detroit's population is 78.33% Black/African American, Black women are 4.5 times more likely to die than white women while birthing their children, which makes Detroit's maternal death rate three times higher than the national average.
Moreover, since the 1990s, research on maternal and infant death disparities has increasingly pointed to structural racism in society as a stressor that harms Black women at physiological and genetic levels. Conditions such as hypertension, linked to the stress of living in a racist society, contribute to disparities in pregnancy-related complications such as eclampsia—this is due to detrimental health effects of daily life compounded by racial discrimination and the disregard within medical institutions.
In addition, despite medical conditions concerning maternal risk, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), structural racism and implicit bias still play a significant factor in instances of black maternal mortalities. Furthermore, black women are twice as likely to experience postpartum depression than white women.
Nevertheless, we can not speak about black maternal mortalities without addressing morbidities.
According to the National Institute of Health, for every pregnancy-related death in the United States, 70 women experience a “near miss” severe maternal morbidity (SMM).
Comparatively, Black women experienced 166% higher (SMM) than White women, which is defined by The World Health Organization (WHO) as “any health condition attributed to and/or aggravated by pregnancy and childbirth that has a negative impact on the woman’s wellbeing. Further, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states: “Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) includes unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short or long-term consequences to a women's health.
Black youth crisis
According to the (NIMH) National Institute of Mental Health, Black people face increased rates of risk factors, including experiences of racism, higher rates of unemployment and financial and food insecurity, disparities in other aspects of health, and limited access to care, all of which result in an increased burden of mental illness in black communities. Despite this heavy burden, Black people and individuals in other racial and ethnic minority groups have historically had relatively low rates of suicide. But this has been changing recently, especially for Black youth. As of 2018, suicide became the second leading cause of death in Black children aged 10-14 and the third leading cause of death in Black adolescents aged 15-19. By combining data from 2001 to 2015, researchers were able to examine suicides among children ages 12 and younger and found that Black children were more likely to die by suicide than their White peers.
NIMH states that more research is needed on how suicide risk develops among Black youth and how it can be best prevented. Significant questions remain in terms of understanding and predicting suicide risk among Black youth — while some risk factors have been well-researched and are clear (e.g., gender, a victim of bullying and bullying others, LGBTQ+ discrimination, exposure to trauma, racial discrimination), other risk factors are less clear. For example, some research suggests that Black adolescents who have contemplated or attempted suicide are less likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Another significant risk factor is access to firearms — research points to higher rates of Black youth mortality due to firearms compared to other racial/ethnic groups — which is why the NIMH is supporting infrastructure to improve research on firearm safety for youth.
Finally, in response to these crises, The World Mental Health Organization is committed to bringing awareness, advocacy, support, training, mental health care, and resources to aid in the fight to save lives. We plan to work together with community leaders, State, Federal, and public entities so that we can make positive changes surrounding these issues.
Black infant crisis
According to the Department of Health and Human Services:
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Black Non-Hispanic blacks/African Americans have 2.3 times the infant mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites.
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Non-Hispanic black/African American infants are four times as likely to die from complications related to low birth weight compared to non-Hispanic white infants.
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Non-Hispanic black/African American infants had twice the sudden infant death syndrome mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites in 2018.
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In 2018, Non-Hispanic black/African American mothers were twice as likely to receive late or no prenatal care as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers.
Alarmingly, according to the CDC, compared to other racial groups, black infants take the lead in infant mortalities.
