Addressing the Root Causes of Maternal Health Inequity

The United States is the only industrialized nation where maternal mortality and morbidity rates are increasing. All U.S. demographic groups experience an elevated risk of adverse outcomes, but Black and Native American patients experience devastating rates of complications. Clinical leaders can advance equitable outcomes by embedding best practice obstetrics protocols into frontline practice, tracking performance and identifying care gaps, and tapping into system- and community-based resources.