What America Must Do to Save Its Mothers
Why maternal health is no longer just a women’s issue — it’s a human rights crisis.
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We tell ourselves that in 2025, birth should be safe. We believe in modern medicine. We trust nurses, doctors, hospitals. And yet, for far too many women in America, giving birth remains a gamble with life and dignity on the line.
Recent data makes that clear. According to new reporting, the maternal mortality rate in 2023 dropped slightly — but not enough. In 2023 the U.S. recorded approximately 18.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. CDC Yet this modest progress comes with a deep scar: in that same year, Black women died at a rate more than three times higher than white women. The Associated Press
That racial gap is not a statistic. It is a symptom of systemic neglect. It is evidence that in this country, the color of your skin still often determines whether the hospital sees you — or ignores you.
The Hidden Crisis: Why Some Mothers Die After Birth
We rarely hear about what happens after a baby is born. We celebrate the delivery, the first cry, the first latch. But for many mothers, the danger does not end at birth — it begins there.
More than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable, according to public-health experts. Harvard Gazette And yet the leading causes of death — hemorrhage, cardiovascular disease, hypertension disorders — continue to rise. Contemporary OB/GYN
A contributing factor is that many births now occur in regions the health system calls “maternity-care deserts”: rural and underserved areas where there are too few obstetricians, nurses, or midwives. The Century FoundationThat scarcity means that when complications arise — even predictable ones — the chance of timely, quality intervention shrinks dramatically.
And even in well-resourced areas, old biases and structural racism still shape who receives care. A birthing person’s pain, especially if they are Black or Indigenous, is more likely to be dismissed. Their vital signs may go unnoticed. Their concerns may be downplayed. Their lives may be bargained for paperwork and hospital policies.
The Ripple Effects: Infant Health, Postpartum Danger, Mental Toll
Maternal health does not exist in a vacuum. When a mother suffers, the consequences often reach her child — sometimes far beyond the first minutes of life.
Infants born to mothers who endure severe maternal morbidity or mortality face significantly heightened risks of health problems or even death. Boston University
Meanwhile, what does it say about our country that in 2025, as maternal health remains fragile, more mothers than ever are fighting silently for their lives? According to a recent maternal-health risk assessment, the number of U.S. counties flagged as “high-risk” for maternal mental-health disorders increased sharply — a reminder that childbirth trauma does not end at the delivery room door. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health
This is not only a medical crisis. It is a social crisis. It is a human dignity crisis.
What Real Reform Would Look Like
We cannot keep embracing small victories as if they are solutions. We need systemic change. We need the demands to match the stakes.
Universal postpartum care for at least one year, especially for people whose pregnancies were covered by Medicaid or public assistance. The postpartum period is when many maternal deaths now occur. American Journal of Public Health
Expanded access to midwives, birth-center care, doulas, and community-based maternal health professionals, especially in historically neglected communities and rural areas where providers are scarce. The Century Foundation
Mandatory bias training and accountability measures in every hospital, clinic, and birth center that provides obstetric care. Not optional. Not a suggestion.
Early warning systems & protocols for complications like hemorrhage or hypertensive disorders, which remain among the leading causes of maternal death — even when no risk factors are present. American Hospital Association
Strong data collection, transparency, and funding for maternal mortality review committees so that every preventable death becomes a lesson — not a statistic buried in a report. Guttmacher Institute
A Moral Reckoning, Not Just a Health Debate
When we look at these numbers — 18.6, 50.3, 80% preventable deaths — we are measuring more than pain. We are measuring collective failure. We are measuring institutions that still regard birth as a transaction rather than a sacred trust.
We are at a moment where we must stop believing that this is normal. Because it is not.
Every mother deserves dignity. Every birth deserves safety. Every baby deserves a chance.
If we are serious about equity, justice, and human dignity, we must carry this moment forward beyond outrage. We must demand care. We must demand respect. We must demand that birth in America be met with more than a form to fill out or a checklist to run through. We must demand that birth is treated as the powerful, vulnerable, life-changing event it is.
Because until that happens, the numbers will still represent mothers lost, families traumatized, futures stolen.
And for too many, birth will remain dangerous.
Let us change that story now.
