The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has conducted a study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, which suggests that although African American women and White has the same complications in pregnancy, the first are more at risk of dying from problems that arise during pregnancy or childbirth.
The data studied from 1988 to 1999, extracted from national statistics with data from hospital discharge records and other sources, have shown equality in the incidence of gestational problems in women of both ethnicities, but black women were two or three times more prone to death because of such problems.
It was also proven that the five most frequent complications during pregnancy were shared by white and black women, including preeclampsia, eclampsia, placental abruption, placenta previa and postpartum hemorrhage. Statistics show that out of 100,000 cases of postpartum hemorrhage, 68 African-American and 21 white women died, and due to preeclampsia, 73 black women died, while 27 of white women died.
The study does not conclude with data or reasons why these differences in mortality rates exist, according to the team that has carried out the investigation "a complex interaction of biological factors and health services" should be deciphered to know the Causes. But they suggest that black women are more likely to suffer from certain health problems such as hypertension, diabetes or obesity, as well as that they receive prenatal care later, which we think cannot be generalized. What do you think?
