Maternal Health Equity and Respectful Maternity Care
Authors: Laura E. Riley, Christina Pardo
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2024)

Editorials2 January 2024Maternal Health Equity and Respectful Maternity CareLaura E. Riley, MD, and Christina Pardo, MD, MPHLaura E. Riley, MDWeill Cornell School of Medicine, New York, New York, and Christina Pardo, MD, MPHWeill Cornell School of Medicine, New York, New YorkAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M23-3186 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Disrespect in maternity care is a global phenomenon with staggering reports from both affluent and impoverished nations (1). Although the United Nations and the World Health Organization have called for instituting protections for birthing persons in all health care settings (2, 3), disrespectful care persists and disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, contributing to adverse birth outcomes (4). Multilevel initiatives to reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in the United States have been proposed (5, 6). These initiatives focus on reducing racial and ethnic disparities by ensuring nondiscrimination in access to maternal health care and ensuring the right to ...References1. Vedam S, Stoll K, Rubashkin N, et al; CCinBC Steering Council. The Mothers on Respect (MOR) index: measuring quality, safety, and human rights in childbirth. SSM Popul Health. 2017;3:201-210. [PMID: 29349217] doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.01.005 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. World Health Organization. The prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth. 14 September 2014. Accessed at https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/134588/WHO_RHR_14.23_eng.pdf on 26 November 2023. Google Scholar3. Afulani PA, Altman MR, Castillo E, et al. Adaptation of the Person-Centered Maternity Care scale in the United States: prioritizing the experiences of Black women and birthing people. Womens Health Issues. 2022;32:352-361. [PMID: 35277334] doi:10.1016/j.whi.2022.01.006 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Jain JA, Temming LA, D'Alton ME, et al. SMFM special report: putting the "M" back in MFM: reducing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality: a call to action. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;218:B9-B17. [PMID: 29183819] doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2017.11.591 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Crear-Perry J, Correa-de-Araujo R, Lewis Johnson T, et al. Social and structural determinants of health inequities in maternal health. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2021;30:230-235. [PMID: 33181043] doi:10.1089/jwh.2020.8882 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Black Mamas Matter Alliance; Center for Reproductive Rights. Black Mamas Matter: Advancing the Human Right to Safe and Respectful Maternal Health Care. 2018. Accessed at http://blackmamasmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/USPA_BMMA_Toolkit_Booklet-Final-Update_Web-Pages-1.pdf on 26 November 2023. Google Scholar7. Pardo C, Atallah F, Mincer S, et al. Reducing perinatal health disparities by placing equity at the heart of performance improvement. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;137:481-485. [PMID: 33543902] doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000004283 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Cantor AG, Jungbauer RM, Skelly AC, et al. Respectful maternity care. A systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2 January 2024. [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.7326/M23-2676 LinkGoogle Scholar9. Cerdeña JP, Plaisime MV, Tsai J. From race-based to race-conscious medicine: how anti-racist uprisings call us to act. Lancet. 2020;396:1125-1128. [PMID: 33038972] doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32076-6 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Bauer ME, Albright C, Prabhu M, et al. Alliance for innovation on maternal health: consensus bundle on sepsis in obstetric care [Editorial]. Obstet Gynecol. 2023;142:481-492. [PMID: 37590980] doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000005304 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Laura E. Riley, MD; Christina Pardo, MD, MPHAffiliations: Weill Cornell School of Medicine, New York, New YorkDisclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M23-3186.Corresponding Author: Laura E. Riley, MD, NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, 525 East 68th Street, M-724, Box 122, New York, NY 10065; e-mail, lar9110@med.cornell.edu.This article was published at Annals.org on 2 January 2024. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoRespectful Maternity Care Amy G. Cantor , Rebecca M. Jungbauer , Andrea C. Skelly , Erica L. Hart , Katherine Jorda , Cynthia Davis-O'Reilly , Aaron B. Caughey , and Ellen L. Tilden Metrics Latest Keywords Health equity Maternal mortality Pregnancy Racism Systematic reviews ePublished: 2 January 2024 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2024 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...