In 2024, nearly 18 of every 100,000 expectant mothers in the United States died during pregnancy or soon after. That seems like a low number.
But in Japan, the maternal mortality number is 3.4. In Switzerland, it’s about 1.
At the same time, 10.4% of American babies born that year were considered preterm. Despite incremental improvements, the United States continues to lag far behind similarly affluent countries when it comes to maternal health.
And Colorado is not any better with 10.3% of babies in Denver delivered preterm, and 11.1% in both Aurora and Colorado Springs, according to that same March of Dimes data.
That should be enough to spur even greater action.
Most of the countries outperforming us have universal healthcare. And while greater access to care is an important piece of the puzzle, that alone won’t solve the problem because maternal and infant health is not just a medical issue. It’s a societal one — a symptom of the structural inequality and racism many families live with day in and day out.
Making pregnancy and childbirth the healthy experience it should be for everyone will take a full menu of wraparound services — medical care, social supports, and a greater understanding of the stress and pressures women, especially women of color, face during pregnancy.
As bad as our nation’s overall performance in maternal health and infant health is, it is more than three times worse for Black and Indigenous women. And the rate of preterm births among Black women was 14.7%, significantly higher than the 10% for women overall. For Indigenous women, the figure is 12.5%
☀ MORE IN OPINION
When babies are born too soon, it impacts more than just the baby and parents. The March of Dimes estimates that care for a preterm baby costs, on average, $49,140.
That’s more than three times the cost of hospital delivery for a full-term baby. Overall, the organization estimates that prematurity’s cost in terms of medical care, lost productivity and other factors, tops $25 billion.
In Colorado, we have advantages over some other states in a few important areas.
While our altitude increases the risk for low-birth weight babies, we do have a robust maternal and maternal mental health community. We now offer universal prekindergarten options and were one of the first states to mandate paid family and medical leave — something required in many of the countries that excel at maternal and infant health outcomes.
Our state is fortunate, also, to be home to several organizations dedicated to helping moms and babies thrive, including the Nurse Family Partnership, the Colorado Perinatal Mental Health Project, Hope House Colorado, and my own nonprofit service organization, Thriving Families.
Our flagship program, MotherWise, supports women during pregnancy and after the baby arrives. We do that by helping with the financial burdens many families face, providing baby and maternity clothes, food boxes and help getting diapers, formula and breast pumps. Through our six-week workshops, which are free to pregnant women, we work to build healthy relationships between moms- and dads-to-be.
Our culture likes to depict new motherhood as idyllic, bombarding us with images of sleeping babies cuddling with blissed-out mothers. But for many, it’s a scary, stressful and isolating time.
When I talk to people about having a baby, I try to convey that there is a lot of joy and love, but there also is profound change, some hardship and a great deal of negotiating new roles for everyone in the baby’s life.
Reducing pregnant women’s stress is not just a nice thing to make them feel better. Stress during pregnancy is linked to elevated risk for preterm birth and other negative outcomes.
A randomized, controlled trial found that among 953 women MotherWise supported between 2016 and 2021, preterm births were reduced by 55%. There was also a notable reduction in postpartum depression, a leading cause of maternal mortality, particularly among Black women.
I’m certain that with public and private support, the kind of wraparound, comprehensive services all of our organizations provide will continue to make a significant difference in the lives of mothers and babies in Colorado and beyond.
Making pregnancy and childbirth safer for all women is a goal we can and should achieve.
Galena Rhoades, Ph.D., of Denver, is executive director of Thriving Families, a professor at the University of Denver and a psychologist in private practice.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy. Learn how to submit a column. Reach the opinion editor at opinion@coloradosun.com.
Follow Colorado Sun Opinion on Facebook.