While some measures of maternal health are improving, deep disparities remain in health outcomes and drivers, according to the UnitedHealth Foundation's America's Health Rankings Maternal and Infant Health Disparities Data Brief.
The brief, published Aug. 27, analyzes 14 measures linked to maternal and infant health.
Lisa Saul, MD, UnitedHealthcare's national medical director of maternal child health, said in a statement shared with Becker's the data shows consistent disparities in health outcomes by race/ethnicity, education and income.
Five concerning trends, according to Dr. Saul:
- American Indian/Alaska Native, Black and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women have rates of maternal mortality 2.5 to 4.5 times greater than other groups.
- Severe maternal morbidity was 2 times higher among Black mothers than white mothers and 1.5 times higher among Black than Hispanic mothers.
- Low birth weight among infants born to Black mothers was 2 times higher compared to infants born to white mothers.
- Between 2018-2022, the percentage of females ages 18-44 who experienced severe housing costs were 105 times higher among females with household incomes below $25,000 than those with $75,000 or more.
- Among females ages 18-44, uninsured rates were around 6 times higher among those with less than a high school education than college graduates.
Dr. Saul also identified four trends moving in the right direction:
- Infant mortality rates improved among some racial/ethnic groups between 2008 to 2011 and 2018 to 2021. Infant mortality rates improved 15% for infants born to white mothers, 12% for infants born to Black mothers and 9% for infants born to Hispanic mothers.
- In 2018-2021, 15 states had infant mortality rates that met the Healthy People 2030 target.
- The number of women living below the poverty line decreased. In 2018-2022, around 15% of females ages 18-44 lived below the poverty level, which is a 23% decrease from 2010-2014, when 20% of women had incomes below the poverty line.
- The percentage of females ages 18-44 experiencing severe housing cost burden decreased 22% from around 16% to around 13% between 2010-2014 and 2018-2022.
No single approach can address the multifaceted issue of maternal and infant health, Dr. Saul said. UnitedHealthcare is improving maternal health through several programs, including expanding coverage of doulas, member incentive models to improve prenatal and postpartum visit rates and community engagement programs, she said.
"We believe the collective impact from a multi-faceted, evidence-informed approach with intentional collaboration with our members, providers, and community and state partners will help improve maternal and infant morbidity and mortality," Dr. Saul said.
Read the full report here.