[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJwry0wtL9YvA5F6iVmJFTplSAK5-SmlOakA-D8NyQ","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__375186__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"375186","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/375186","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__375186__en","pager_element":0}}},"csp":{"nonce":"SAS2MdeqAOh86Cu-whZ5LQ"},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"bc8921424f39d39c64af84232b603fadae46f840a8176c1b2436a5ee00791ac5"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_AJtnZDRKiPcDwZRF9CRxhLi7MMNATzBRLvIhNfcurrs.css?delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLzEqs0CnLTC0v1geTern5KaU5qQDy8w2e"}]},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_VAWKYxPX4vFoyXs0iEPUrnc99CjyNLIu_pZawjEz9i8.js?scope=footer\u0026delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJwry0wtL9YvA5F6iVmJFQA22wZe"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__375186__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__375186__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EGoing through pregnancy is challenging for many parents. But for Black women in the United States, the dangers are heightened. Black women face a maternal death rate that\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/04\/13\/valuing-black-womens-and-infants-lives-us\u0022\u003Emore than double\u003C\/a\u003E that of their white counterparts. The troubling figures reflect a nation whose health care experiences and outcomes are divided along racial lines.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnnerieke Daniel, a fellow in the Women\u0027s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, knows the racial disparities all too well. During her pregnancy last July, she was diagnosed with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/preeclampsia\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20355745\u0022\u003Epreeclampsia\u003C\/a\u003E, a condition that disproportionately affects and kills African-American women. Daniel, who is Black, wrote about her experience in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blog.lareviewofbooks.org\/essays\/maternal-health-covid-19-racial-divide\/\u0022\u003Ean essay\u003C\/a\u003E published on Sunday by the LA Review of Books. The piece sheds light on the systemic challenges that Black rural women face in accessing maternal health care \u2013 and how the Covid-19 crisis threatens to make it worse.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs the pandemic overwhelms our healthcare system and leads to shortages in medical providers and supplies, pregnant women will suffer, and the many Black women living in rural areas who already lack access to an obstetrician or hospital will have an even tougher time,\u201d Daniel writes. \u201cHealth disparities that existed long before the pandemic will contribute to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F04%2F07%2Fus%2Fcoronavirus-race.html%3Fsmtyp%3Dcur%26smid%3Dtw-nytnational\u0026amp;data=02%7C01%7Crosek%40hrw.org%7C31f0ff55215146e0c0bc08d7e8c1bd23%7C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%7C1%7C1%7C637233791116248079\u0026amp;sdata=OXIOUAbbax0Bzj7ocV9akvHb6aWup8cdHsAGYKC19YI%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022\u003Ealarming rate\u003C\/a\u003E at which COVID-19 is infecting, and killing, Black Americans.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe maternal health crisis is due in part to states\u2019 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2020\/2\/18\/21142650\/rural-hospitals-closing-medicaid-expansion-states\u0022\u003Erefusal to expand Medicaid,\u003C\/a\u003E which has contributed to the closure of rural hospitals in the South. As Daniel reports, there were 45 hospitals serving rural Alabama in 1980. In 2016, there were only 16.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPublic policies have a direct impact on the prenatal care and number of hospital beds available to rural Americans and all people in need, making it important for elected officials and those running for office in 2020 to address the crisis head-on. Daniels encourages policy makers to consider expanding Medicaid eligibility to increase coverage rates. Medicaid expansion, she says, \u201ccould help stem the high number of rural hospital closures and ensure that women can deliver their babies in safe and respectful circumstances.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERead Daniel\u2019s entire essay at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blog.lareviewofbooks.org\/essays\/maternal-health-covid-19-racial-divide\/\u0022\u003ELA Review of Books\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null},{"command":"insert","method":"prepend","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__375186__en","data":"","settings":null}]