Racial Inequities in the Availability of Evidence-Based Supports for Maternal and Infant Health in 93 Rural U.S. Counties With Hospital-Based Obstetric Care

Date
07/2022
Description

Being pregnant in rural America means facing interconnected challenges: a greater risk of pregnancy related complications or death and declining access to maternity care during pregnancy and childbirth. Rural residents who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) experience even poorer pregnancy-related health outcomes. Racial disparities in rural maternal and infant health outcomes may be related to limited accessibility of clinical care and pregnancy/postnatal support programs and services in rural communities. This policy brief describes these differences between majority-BIPOC versus majority-white rural counties' available maternal and infant health evidence-based supports.

Center
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Authors
Bridget Basile Ibrahim, Mariana Tuttle, Alyssa Fritz, Julia Interrante, Katy Kozhimannil