Getting to the root of maternal health disparities

Also: Why Mass. got a C- for its efforts to address lead in school drinking water [View in browser](    [❤️]( February 28, 2023 Hi CommonHealth reader, A couple years ago, the doctors, researchers and executives at Boston Medical Center started a deep dive into the care they provide to their own patients. Even for a place that prides itself on serving a patient population that is predominantly people of color, [BMC had work to do](. One finding: BMC’s Black patients were twice as likely to develop pregnancy-related complications as white patients. "There's no way you can find those things and not interrogate them," Dr. Thea James told me. "It is unethical to see those things and leave them there." James is vice president of mission and co-executive director of the [Health Equity Accelerator]( the hospital’s sweeping effort to reduce disparities in medical care. This winter, I visited BMC to see how that effort translates into care for pregnant patients — and [how a simple medical device may be able to help.]( BMC is giving patients at risk of developing hypertension a high-tech blood pressure cuff, and hospital staff teach them how to use it at home. When patients check their blood pressure at home, the readings go straight to their electronic health records, where doctors and nurses can monitor the numbers in real time. It sounds like a small intervention — but even one high reading could be a sign that a patient needs to deliver their baby early to avoid serious complications. Tracking blood pressure is one way BMC is trying to get at "the root cause for many, many maternal health inequities," according to Dr. Tina Yarrington, the hospital's director of maternal-fetal medicine. "People who are marginalized by structural racism, people who are Black, African American, Latina, Hispanic, suffer higher levels of hypertension and higher levels of complications when that hypertension strikes," she said. Black women in America are nearly [three times as likely]( as white women to have a pregnancy-related death. And there seems to be more sobering news on these disparities all the time. New research shows childbirth in the U.S. is deadlier for Black families even when they’re rich, as the [New York Times reported earlier this month.]( And a report last week from United Nations agencies found that [progress in reducing maternal deaths]( worldwide has stalled in recent years. Yarrington told me that pre-eclampsia — a condition in which blood pressure spikes during pregnancy — has long been recognized as a problem. "But now, thinking of it through the lens of health inequities has empowered us to be more innovative and more aggressive," she said. "We're long overdue to dismantle some of this." You can read and listen to my [full story here](. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Senior Health Reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [A surprise-billing law loophole? Her pregnancy led to a six-figure hospital bill]( Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers get around new consumer protections, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care. [Read more.]( [A surprise-billing law loophole? Her pregnancy led to a six-figure hospital bill]( Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers get around new consumer protections, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care. 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According to NPR, researchers have found that people with a bestie at work were better performers on the job. [Read more here]( about how to nurture work friendships. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here.](  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.