Despite a national decline in maternal mortality, Black women in the United States continue to die at disproportionately high rates during and after childbirth. New federal data show that while the overall maternal mortality rate dropped from 22.3 to 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, the rate for Black women remained staggering at 50.3—more than three times that of white women.
In Washington, D.C., the disparity is even more severe. Black birthing people accounted for 90% of all birth-related deaths in recent years, despite representing only about half of all births in the city. The D.C. Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that the city’s maternal mortality rate was 36 per 100,000 live births in 2018, far exceeding the national average. For Black residents, the rate soared to 70.9.
Age compounds the risk. Black women over 40 faced a maternal mortality rate of 132.9 deaths per 100,000 live births—more than double the rate for white women in the same age group.
“These disparities are very much along racial lines,” said Dr. Christina Marea, cofounder of the D.C. review committee. “There’s nothing about Black birthing people that makes them more likely to die; it’s the environments to which they’re exposed.”
The data reinforce urgent calls for systemic reform, including better access to prenatal and postpartum care, increased funding for maternal health programs, and stronger efforts to eliminate medical bias.
See: “Black Maternal Mortality Remains a Crisis Despite Overall Decline” (February 6, 2025)
