Despite spending more than $111 billion on maternal and infant health care per year, the U.S. ranks last among high-income nations in maternal mortality rates. A closer look at the data shows that Black women lead these numbers: Black women are two to three times more likely than White women to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications.
Solving the maternal mortality crisis among Black women is essential for bringing down America’s shamefully high maternal mortality rate. One place to start is with federally mandated, paid maternity leave.
The U.S. is the only high-income nation to not guarantee any form of paid maternity leave. Only 20% of private sector workers had access to paid family leave in 2020 to care for a new child or a family member, and only 42% of private sector workers had access to short-term disability insurance in 2020 to recover from an illness or injury. Just 8% of workers in the bottom wage quartile had access to paid family leave in 2020, with Black and Hispanic people being less likely to work in jobs with access to paid leave.