We can improve Black maternal health across the Suncoast

We have just concluded the annual national recognition of Black Maternal Health Week, which is commemorated from April 11 to 17 to raise awareness about the work being done to improve Black maternal health.

And everyone across the Suncoast can play a role in working to prevent pregnancy-related deaths and illness.

Each year hundreds of Floridians die during pregnancy or in the year after a pregnancy; hundreds more have unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery with serious short- or long-term health problems.

Every pregnancy-related death is tragic – and particularly so because in the United States, 80% of these deaths are preventable. The key is to recognize urgent maternal warning signs, provide timely treatment and deliver maternity care that is high in quality and empathy.

Unfortunately, racial disparities still exist when it comes to maternal health.

In Florida, for example, Black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their white counterparts. There are numerous factors that contribute to these disparities, including variations in quality health care, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism and implicit bias. These factors, and many others, need to be identified and addressed early on during pregnancies.

As a community, we can all work together to reduce Black childbirth deaths.

We must encourage pregnant Black women to:

Talk to a health care provider if something doesn't feel right or is an issue of concern.

Have family members or other supportive people accompany them on appointments if it helps increase their level of comfort.

Seek immediate care if experiencing any urgent maternal warning signs, which can include severe headaches, body pains and extreme swelling of hands or face. These symptoms could indicate a potentially serious problem.

Fully share their recent pregnancy history during each medical care visit for up to one year after delivery.

Connect with local health care and social support systems, such as the First 1000 Days Suncoast initiative, during and after pregnancy.

But all medical professionals can do their part, too, They should:

Listen to their patients.

Ask questions to better understand patients – and to discover the factors that may be affecting their lives.

Help patients, and those who accompany them, understand urgent maternal warning signs.

Help patients manage chronic conditions or conditions that may arise during pregnancies (for example, hypertension, diabetes or depression).

Recognize unconscious biases that may exist within themselves – and work to eliminate them. Respond to any concerns patients have.

Provide all patients with respectful quality maternity care.

Meanwhile, our excellent hospitals and health care systems must continue to:

Identify and address unconscious biases in health care.

Standardize coordination of care and response to emergencies.

Improve the delivery of quality prenatal and postpartum care.

Train non-obstetric care providers to ask about pregnancy history in the preceding year.

And, finally, both our state and our communities should:

Assess and coordinate delivery hospitals for risk-appropriate care.

Support the need to conduct a review of every pregnancy-related death.

Support efforts to prevent pregnancy-related deaths.

Identify and address social factors that influence maternal health – such as unstable housing, transportation access, food insecurity, substance use, violence and racial and economic inequality.

Everyone can play a role in promoting maternal health across the Suncoast.

Washington Hill is a longtime Sarasota obstetrician-gynecologist and a board member of the Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County and the Multicultural Health Institute.