Houston isn’t just home to the largest medical center in the world— it is also, as new data suggests is the deadliest place in America for Black women to give birth.
According to new public health data, Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, has the highest Black maternal mortality rate in the country, per Chron.
Citing a recent report from Harris County Public Health, the outlet reported that from 2016 to 2020, Black women in Harris County experienced the highest pregnancy-related death rate in the nation. Their mortality rate reached 83.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, while white women were dying at roughly one-fourth that rate.
The report also highlighted the toll of the crisis on infants. During the same period, infant mortality among Black babies in Harris County reached 11.66 deaths per 1,000 births, more than double the national average reported in 2020.
Nationally, the U.S. pregnancy-related death rate for Black women in 2020 was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly three times higher than that of white women, whose rate was 19.1, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Harris County’s report identified maternal death rates as “the most concerning threat” to maternal and infant health, citing pregnancy-related conditions and complications as the leading causes. It also found that Black women in the county had the highest prevalence of pre-pregnancy and gestational hypertension, as well as higher rates of sexually transmitted infections. They also faced the highest rates of preterm births and infant deaths within the first year of life and had the lowest rates of breastfeeding at discharge.
The report further noted that socioeconomic status did not significantly improve outcomes: Black non-Hispanic women with a college education still faced a 60% higher risk of maternal death than white or Hispanic women who never finished high school.
Kay Matthews, founder of Houston’s Shades of Blue Project, a nonprofit that strives to improve Maternal mental health, told Chron she knows women who dress up for hospital visits in hopes of being treated with dignity.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a high-paying job or you didn’t graduate — we’re all dying the same,” she said.
The new data making headlines only validates previous reports, as advocates have long been sounding the alarm about Texas’ Black maternal health crisis. In response, local officials and advocates are pushing a multi-pronged approach, including programs to support mothers in the postpartum period, funding for research focused on improving outcomes, and raising public awareness to maintain pressure.
