Engaging Community Members and Key Stakeholders in the Development of a Birth Equity Hospital Designation
There are over 4,000 hospitals in operation in the US, where an estimated 98.4% of women give birth. Research shows that maternal mortality rates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black women having the highest rates of maternal mortality, including severely high rates of COVID-related maternal deaths. Despite the higher rates of perinatal complications for Black women receiving hospital care, hospitals remain popular access points that many women and birthing people turn to for essential services.
In Los Angeles County, there are 46 delivery hospitals where an average of 114,000 births take place each year. Research shows that Black women are more likely to experience severe pregnancy complications when compared to white women, and that a Black woman with a college degree is nearly twice as likely to experience pregnancy complications compared to a white woman that has not completed high school. Furthermore, the rates of pregnancy related death for Black and American Indian/ Alaska Native women over the age of thirty are 4 to 5 times higher than their white peers.
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