Black-White Disparities in Maternal In-Hospital Mortality According to Teaching and Black-serving Hospital Status

Abstract

(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021;225:83.e1–9) From 1987 to 2018, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the United States rose from 7.2 per 100,000 live births to 17.4. Compared with white patients, Black patients have significantly higher maternal mortality rate (14.9 vs. 37.3 per 100,000 live births). There are multiple factors contributing to this disparity. Approximately 90% of preventable maternal mortality may be due to provider factors, and therefore it is important to identify provider factors that contribute to the higher MMR among Black patients. The authors hypothesized that racial disparities in in-hospital MMR would differ between teaching and nonteaching hospitals. Further they hypothesized that the disparity would be larger in hospitals that care for a lower proportion of Black patients.