Tori Bowie’s death highlights the fact that Black maternal mortality rates are high — and rising

U.S. Olympic sprinter Frentorish “Tori” Bowie died due to complications from childbirth, according to an autopsy report.

In early May, the three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion was found dead at her home in Orlando after deputies from Florida’s Orange County sheriff’s office performed a wellbeing check. The cause of death was not confirmed at that time. Bowie was 32 years old.

The autopsy report from Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Bowie was reportedly eight months pregnant and in labor when she died in her bed. The possible complications she experienced during childbirth were listed as respiratory distress and eclampsia — a rare but serious complication of preeclampsia (a high blood pressure disorder during pregnancy) in which a person develops seizures. In some cases, eclampsia can lead to stroke or death.

U.S. maternal mortality rates are rising — for Black moms in particular

Maternal death rates are on the rise in the U.S., spiking significantly in 2021, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, Black moms in particular are nearly three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

In 2019, the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. That rate went up to 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 and then jumped to 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021. However, for Black women in 2021, the maternal mortality rate was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. That’s 2.6 times the rate for white women.

Among non-Hispanic Black people, cardiac and coronary conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the CDC. Research shows that Black mothers also have higher rates of preeclampsia and those with the condition are more likely to experience more severe hypertension, hemorrhaging and increased mortality.

These statistics are particularly tragic given that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to the CDC.

Why are rates so high for Black mothers?

There are several reasons why these rates are particularly high for Black mothers, per the CDC. They include structural racism, less access to quality health care and health insurance coverage, chronic stress, underlying health conditions and implicit racial bias (in a health care setting, that could mean a doctor making medical decisions that are influenced by unconscious prejudices about a person's race). One 2019 study found that rates of mistreatment of pregnant women of color during pregnancy and childbirth are consistently higher than that of white women and include “being shouted at, scolded or threatened,” as well as “being ignored, refused or receiving no response to requests for help.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said in a statement in 2022 that “racism, not race, drives health inequities and leads to adverse health outcomes,” and that these racial inequities in obstetrics and gynecology can’t be changed “without addressing all aspects of racism and racial bias, including sociopolitical forces that perpetuate racism.” ACOG added: “We have an obligation to work to overhaul currently unjust systems that perpetuate unacceptable racial inequities in health outcomes.”

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