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Delayed care to 2 Black pregnant women highlights maternal health disparities
Two Black mothers faced delayed maternity care linked to systemic racism, with Black maternal mortality nearly 3.5 times higher than white women, advocates say.
Two pregnant Black women nearly 1,000 miles apart experienced delayed maternity care before the holidays; on Nov. 16, Leon Wells delivered his daughter on a Lake County highway after Mercedes Wells was discharged.
Advocates say systemic racism and implicit bias contribute to slower triage and delayed care for Black patients, while SisterSong found Black women report differential treatment regardless of income, families and civil-rights advocates say.
Jones' attorneys reported that the newborn required several tests and showed signs of fetal distress, including an in utero bowel movement, while Jones was left in triage for more than 30 minutes before giving birth at Dallas Regional.
Franciscan Health Crown Point said it fired the nurse and physician and ordered cultural competency training, while Raymond Grady pledged to fix failures amid a hospital review and Rep. Rhetta Bowers said she received limited information.
Advocacy groups and officials are urging systemic reforms in maternal care in response to these cases, as a 2023 CDC report shows Black women die nearly 3.5 times more than white women around childbirth.