US Black women nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, delivery than any other race: ABC News

NEW YORK -- Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States -- 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, ABC News reported Tuesday, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Black babies are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely, setting the stage for health issues that could follow them through their lives," said the report.

To be Black anywhere in America is to experience higher rates of chronic ailments like asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's and, most recently, COVID-19. Black Americans have less access to adequate medical care, and their life expectancy is shorter, noted the report.

"From birth to death, regardless of wealth or social standing, they are far more likely to get sick and die from common ailments," it said.

Black Americans' health issues have long been ascribed to genetics or behavior, when in actuality, an array of circumstances linked to racism -- among them, restrictions on where people could live and historical lack of access to care -- play major roles, it added.