• Utibe R Essien, Rose L Molina, and Karen E Lasser.
• Division of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address: uessien@pitt.edu.
• J Natl Med Assoc. 2019 Aug 1; 111 (4): 349-351.

AbstractMaternal morbidity and mortality, important indicators of healthcare quality both nationally and internationally, have gained increasing public attention in the United States (U.S.). The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among high-income countries; notably, this rate has more than doubled since 1990. Black women in the U.S. die at three to four times the rate of white women from pregnancy-related complications, one of the widest of all racial disparities in women's health. Medical complications, including cardiovascular disease and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, remain leading contributors to disparities in maternal outcomes including pregnancy-related deaths. However, an under-explored opportunity for improvement is the failure to transition from obstetrical to primary care, which limits optimizing postpartum health. Health system approaches, community-based interventions, and policy solutions that facilitate transitions of care may be critical to eliminating persistent disparities in maternal outcomes.Copyright © 2018 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

17 keywords...

hide…