Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Cardio-Obstetrics.

Abstract

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities persist in American medicine. Black pregnant people die from pregnancy-related causes at 2 to 3 times the rate of their White counterparts, with cardiovascular disease as the leading contributor. These disparities in cardio-obstetrics arise from intersecting structural forces-economic inequity, residential segregation, limited health care access, implicit bias, and the cumulative physiological toll of structural racism. Effective solutions require a multifaceted action: community health worker programs, group prenatal care, hospital quality improvement, diversification of the obstetric health care workforce, and governmental policies extending coverage and accountability. Measurement frameworks must consider such disparities in cardio-obstetrics to establish health care equity.