Louisiana remains one of the most dangerous states for women to give birth, with a maternal mortality rate of 37.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. Strikingly, the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that nearly all pregnancy-related deaths in 2020 were preventable. Chronic cardiovascular diseases, accidental overdose, and infections are the main causes behind these tragedies. However, these deaths are not evenly distributed; Black mothers bear a disproportionate share. Despite representing only 37 percent of births, Black women accounted for 62 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in Louisiana in 2020.
One major factor contributing to these disparities is inadequate access to care. More than a quarter of Louisiana parishes lack obstetric providers entirely, meaning many women deliver their babies in so-called “maternity care deserts.” This lack of care is compounded by the closure of hospital labor and delivery units in recent years. Maeve Wallace, a public health researcher, said, “Hospital labor delivery units have been closing around the country in a pretty notable trend in the past few years. I think it just has to do with the structure of the healthcare system and the for-profit nature of it in this country.”
History and social realities intensify the crisis. Clare Daniel, director of Research at the Newcomb Institute, explains, “A big factor is the history of structural racism in the state, the ways in which resources have been allocated in a discriminatory way over time.” Black Louisianians are more likely to face food insecurity and poverty, making it harder to obtain nutritious food and access transportation or childcare.
Daniel adds that “Black women in particular, are even more subject to distrust around their narratives about their health and their bodily experiences.” The combined effects of medical, social, and historical inequality heighten the risks facing Black mothers and their families.
See: “Deadly disparity: Data on Louisiana’s Black maternal health crisis” (October 1, 2025)
