Applying Racial Equity to U.S. Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs - Flipbook - Page 40
Maternal Mortality White Women
Number of Deaths
(per 100,000 live
12.4 deaths per
births)
100,000 live births
African American
Women
Native Hawaiian
Indigenous Women Women
40.0 deaths per 100,000
live births
46.2 deaths per
100,000 live births
20.7 deaths per
100,000 live births 168
Table 5: Maternal Mortality by Race
African
Maternal Mortality
White Women
American Women Indigenous Women
Number of Deaths
12.4 deaths per
40.0 deaths per
46.2 deaths per
(per 100,000 live births) 100,000 live births 100,000 live births
100,000 live births
Native
Hawaiian Women
20.7 deaths per
100,000 live births168
SOURCE: Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/
pregnancy-mortality-surveillance-system.htm
Recommendation
• WIC should expand postpartum care for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers. WIC’s postpartum services
include food packages, health monitoring, and breastfeeding support. Studies show that improving health care and other
social support services for mothers during pregnancy and between pregnancies leads to improved health outcomes for
mothers and infants.169 This would disproportionally benefit African American and Indigenous mothers on WIC, who are at
highest risk of maternal mortality, have the lowest breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, and lose WIC benefits earlier.
WIC agencies should assign a community health worker or peer
counselor to provide face-to-face support for new mothers who
participate in WIC at least within the first three weeks of childbirth.
Ongoing postpartum face-to-face support fosters relationships and
trust, which can encourage women of color to breastfeed and increase
the chances that potential health complications will be noticed early.
• WIC agencies should work with local stakeholders in a
comprehensive effort to reduce mortality and improve infant
and maternal health. A citywide initiative in Baltimore that
identified and named as top priorities neighborhoods most in need
of supportive services could be used as a model. Headed by the City
Health Department, the initiative provided families with medical and
social support before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and postpartum.
The city’s infant mortality rate fell by nearly 40 percent.175
WIC already provides many of these services in some areas, but
their impact could be magnified by forging partnerships with
community organizations. Local breastfeeding or nutrition networks
led by women of color serving women of color, such as the African
American Breastfeeding Network176 and the Oregon Inter-Tribal
Breastfeeding Network,177 are critically important partners where they
exist. Local WIC agencies should empower these networks to play a
leading role in this comprehensive effort. For more on how Baltimore
designed and implemented its strategy, see Appendix 18.
40
Courtesy of HealthConnect One
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that extending postpartum care170 could reduce maternal mortality,
with women of color benefiting disproportionately. As mentioned
earlier, communities of color place a high value on community
SPOTLIGHT
and relationships. Studies have found that strategies that include
primarily face-to-face support have higher breastfeeding success rates
than other strategies (see Appendix 28).171 172 A 2015 FNS study found
that many state agencies recommend that local WIC agencies have
peer counselors contact program participants within their first week
at home.173 Research has also found that postpartum care is especially
helpful until the baby is three months old.174
“As people of color, we come from
traditions where relationships,
community, and trust are important.
So any action aimed at increasing
breastfeeding or addressing inequities
needs to dedicate time toward building
relationships, community, and trust with
women of color and their family at the
center (see glossary). Some of the best
breastfeeding rates among women of
color have been in places where they
had strong pre- and post-natal in-person
support from other women of color.”
See recommendation 2 and Appendix 28
for more on the importance of trust and
relationships for programmatic impact.
—Brenda Reyes, from HealthConnect One and
the Racial Equity Breastfeeding Cohort
APPLYING RACIAL EQUITY TO U.S. FEDERAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: SNAP, WIC AND CHILD NUTRITION
