Stark racial disparities in maternal and infant health in the U.S. have persisted for decades despite continued advancements in medical care. Compared to other high-income countries, the U.S. remains the country with the highest rate of maternal deaths.
This brief fro KFF provides an overview of racial disparities for selected measures of maternal and infant health, discusses the factors that drive these disparities, and provides an overview of policy changes that may impact them. It is based on KFF analysis of publicly available data from CDC WONDER online database, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics Reports, and the CDC Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System.
Large racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes persist. Pregnancy-related mortality rates among Black women are over three times higher than the rate for White women (49.4 vs. 14.9 per 100,000). Black, American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI) women also have higher shares of preterm births, low birthweight births, or births for which they received late or no prenatal care compared to White women. Infants born to Black, AIAN, and NHPI people have markedly higher mortality rates than those born to White people.
See: “Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Key Issues” (December 3, 2025)
