One in Three Black Maternal Deaths Is Due to Cardiovascular Disease

Did you know that today, more Black women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth than in the 1990s? Research shows that this higher risk faced by Black women spans income and educational levels. Here, Dr. Rachel M. Bond, a physician who specializes in women's heart health and high-risk pregnancy, connects America's Black maternal health crisis to the inordinate psychosocial stress that Black women experience, as a result of racism. "We know that we have to improve access to care," says Dr. Bond, "and make the places where Black women live and work, healthier, more fair, and more responsive to their unique needs."

Visit OWN's Heart Health page throughout the month of February for vital updates and information about cardiac disease prevention.

Rachel M. Bond, MD, is Co-Chair of the Women and Children's Committee for the Association of Black Cardiologists. She is also a Preventive Cardiologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, NE.