K.C. leaders come together to discuss Black Maternal Health with Rep. Sharice Davids

Here is a summary how Nurture KC’s Executive Director, Tracy Russell, answered some of our community’s most pressing questions about how we are improving health outcomes for local moms – especially Black moms who are at greater risk of complications.

As we know, maternal health outcomes are also far worse for Black and Native American mothers. In your practices and in your communities, what maternal health trends are you noticing? How have outcomes been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Russell: The Kansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that, between 2016 and 2020, 105 Kansas women died while pregnant or within a year of pregnancy, with two-thirds of those deaths being women of color. Pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related deaths are increasing in Kansas, and the United States is the only industrialized country with an increasing maternal mortality rate.

Where is maternal health care falling short in our state? And as activists and providers, how has the work you have done improved our understanding of and the conversation around this crisis?
Russell: For many mothers in America, the color of their skin, their background, and their income often dictate the quality of the maternal care they receive, their health outcomes, and the health of their children.

What else should Congress be focusing on when it comes to this crisis? How important is including community voices in improving maternal health outcomes, and how else would these bills affect your work?
Russell: It’s critical for there to be more attention at a policy level to address maternal mental health. In the short term, passing paid family and medical leave at the national level could transform the lives of families, signaling the importance of valuing our most vulnerable.

Rep. Sharice Davids: This Congress, I was honored to reintroduce the Data to Save Moms Act, which seeks to understand the root causes of this crisis by improving data collection on maternal mortality and morbidity. That bill is one part of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which makes investments to address social determinants of health, fund community-based organizations, grow and diversify the perinatal health workforce, expand access to maternal mental health care, address the effects of climate change on maternal and infant health and improve data collection processes.