Black Maternal Mortality Rate

Brad Edwards and doula Kyra Betts chat at a Dads to Doulas information session in a birthing suite in Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Jamaa Birth Village in Ferguson and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office are partnering to help St. Louisans understand the importance of Black doulas.

At an event about pregnancy and maternal health convened by the St. Louis Department of Health on Thursday, a panel of health workers said quality pre- and post-natal health care provided by workers beyond clinical health settings is essential to reducing the state’s maternal and infant mortality rates.

Doulas and birth centers are considered part of the solution to Missouri’s ‘unacceptable’ maternal mortality crisis. But current law makes it difficult to help mothers most in need.

Missouri has a maternal mortality rate of 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, higher than the national average. Health professionals worry that the state’s near-total abortion ban will make pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period even more dangerous.

Missouri has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. Some Black doulas in the state are seeing more requests for services. Black women are seeking out their services to improve their birth outcomes.