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- By Native News Online Staff
Most American Indian and Alaska Native pregnancy-related deaths deemed preventable
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., convened more than 55 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian maternal health experts and organizations to develop five reports outlining the state of Native maternal health in the United States.
Luján, a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, brought together experts to examine maternal mortality, workforce equity, access to health care services, data sovereignty and funding inequities affecting Native communities.
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American Indian and Alaska Native people experience pregnancy-related mortality rates two to three times higher than non-Hispanic white counterparts, while Native Hawaiian mortality rates remain similarly elevated. The reports conclude that these disparities stem from generations of harmful federal Indian policies, chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service and Urban Indian Organizations, and persistent barriers to culturally based and accessible maternal health care.
“For far too long, Native families have had to be subjected to a maternal health system that was never built for them. These reports offer a roadmap that is based on data sovereignty, community-led care, and sustained federal investment and support,” Luján said. “I am proud of the work these experts from across the country have led to identify solutions to the unacceptable and preventable disparities in Native maternal health outcomes. I look forward to seeing many of these solutions put to work and to making things better for Native mothers and care facilities.”
“One hundred percent of maternal deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native women were found to be preventable. We know exactly where the system is failing—now we need the courage and commitment to fix it. Native Hawaiian women face some of the highest rates of hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, and cardiometabolic complications in the nation—yet their risks remain masked by aggregated reporting. Disaggregation is not optional; it is lifesaving. Misclassification hides American Indian, Alaska Native women and Native Hawaiian women in our data—and when women disappear from the data, they disappear from the solutions. Until we correct how we count, we cannot correct how we care,” said Janelle Palacios, Ph.D., CNM, founder and CEO of Encoded 4 Story and a member of the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee COVID Expert Committee.
“The disparities facing AI/AN/NH birthing people are both profound and preventable. ACNM urges policymakers and partners to act on these findings by resourcing Indigenous-led systems of care, strengthening IHS infrastructure, and upholding Tribal sovereignty in workforce pathways. Equity depends on our willingness to follow—and fund—the leadership of Native communities,” said Michelle L. Munroe, DNP, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, chief executive officer of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
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