Just 14.8% of white children in Missouri live in poverty, and the rate for Black children is also higher than other ethnic groups. “High school graduation and child poverty are big issues right now in Missouri, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

“When these issues are addressed, it will improve the health of the community as well as drive the economy.” “Aside from this, we now know that tragically during COVID-19, lots of people lost their lives, and it was disproportionately African American women,” Benjamin said.  

Benjamin said those social determinants give insight into what needs to be fixed to improve overall community health. The report demonstrated persistent and growing disparities in maternal mortality. In 2015-2019, Black mothers (43.8 deaths per 100,000 live births) had a maternal mortality rate that was 3.4 times higher than Hispanic mothers (12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births). 

“A national goal should be to make sure everyone has affordable health insurance.” – Dr. Georges Benjamin, American Public Health Association executive director Benjamin quote

Between 2005-2009 and 2015-2019, maternal mortality rates increased 22% among Black mothers, from 35.8 to 43.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the United Health Foundation report. “This is one of the national tragedies we continue to see growth in, African American mothers in particular are dying either in or shortly after pregnancy,” Benjamin said.

“There is a national effort to try to better understand why it happens,” Benjamin said. “I can tell you that stress plays a role in this, particularly with eclampsia and pre-eclampsia.” Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system. Eclampsia is a severe complication of preeclampsia. It’s a rare but serious condition, In which high blood pressure results in seizures during pregnancy.  “The exact root cause for this is currently unclear, but causes for the maternal mortality lie in post-partum hemorrhages and post-partum infections,” Benjamin said.

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