University Libraries’ Excellence in Information Literacy Awardee
Student: Jemya Wilson
Advisor: Dr. Khalid Almasloukh
Maternal and infant mortalities have persisted for many years despite the great advancements in medical care. When compared to White women, African American women have higher shares of low birthweight births, preterm births, and births that received no or late prenatal care. Infants born to African American women have higher mortality rates.The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the causes of African American maternal and infant deaths and find solutions to this health issue. A literature review was conducted using the databases PubMed and CINAHL. The articles concluded that racial discrimination prevents women of color from receiving the best neonatal care, and implicit bias, combined with stereo-typing, contributes to high African American maternal mortality. Results also showed that the higher the structural racism, the higher the African American maternal and infant mortality rates. Nurses can give African American women a voice in settings or situations where they could be disregarded or ignored. Advocacy efforts aimed at African American women can potentially help in transforming the delivery of black maternal care.
Keywords: infant mortality, maternal mortality, health disparities, racial disparities, implicit bias, African American