Millions of American women of childbearing age do not have necessary access to maternity care. That’s according to a recent study by the March of Dimes. Dr. Ariel Gonzalez, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Affairs with the organization, says that data is published in the “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S.” report.
“We're finding about 54% of counties across the US have limited or no access to maternity care, and about seven million women of childbearing age live there, so these are pretty startling numbers.”
Gonzalez says the situation is even worse for Black women and poor women.
“We also find with the study that Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as compared to white women, and their quality of care, access to care, and availability of care contribute to these disparities.”
March of Dimes is launching a new campaign to combat the problem.
“March of Dimes is excited to be launching a national digital campaign called #BlanketChange. Blanket Change is a digital advocacy campaign that springs together organizations and advocates from across the US. They demand that policymakers and candidates for office take immediate action to help end the maternal and infant health care crisis.
Gonzalez says some 2.4 million women live in areas without access to care, and another 4.8 million have only limited care. For more information, visit March of Dimes.org.
