Last month, Tori Bowie, an Olympic medalist who was named the fastest woman on Earth in 2017, died in childbirth along with her daughter in her Florida home. Bowie’s death is yet another stagnant reminder of the rising maternal mortality rate–and that Black women in America die at 2.6 times the rate of white women. Worse, in our nation’s largest city of New York, Black birthing people die at eight to 12 times the rate of white mothers.
Nobody is safe. Many stats about severe maternal morbidity and mortality are unsurprising, in that rates are worse for those who are poor, underserved, and living in remote locations (not to mention in states with abortion bans). At the same time, wealthy, well-resourced, urban Black folks die, too.
