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The path to closing the Black maternal health gap: McKinsey

08/21/2025|Source Author|

Increasing access and coverage for healthcare services for all women, with a specific focus on Black women, is crucial to closing racial disparities in maternal outcomes, according to a report from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility. 

In 2023, the maternal mortality rate for Black women was approximately 50 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 15 deaths for white women, 12 for Hispanic women and 11 for Asian women, according to CDC data published in February. 

This gap in health outcomes is not exclusive to maternal mortality, according to McKinsey’s analysis. Black American women also have disproportionately higher rates of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and postpartum depression. In 2025, these maternal health conditions could lead to 350,000 fewer healthy life years for Black women giving birth, the report found. 

Black infants are also twice as likely to die compared to white, Hispanic and Asian infants. 

“In the United States, advancing equity in maternal and child health could save thousands of lives, improve quality of life by reducing disabilities and generate billions in economic value for the United States over the next 15 years,” the researchers said in their report, published Aug. 13. 

According to the research, addressing this health gap could:

  • Save the lives of more than 3,100 Black mothers and 35,000 Black infants by 2040,
  • Add $24.4 billion in GDP to the U.S. economy, 
  • Annually save $385 million in preventable healthcare costs, including $215 million in unnecessary cesarean sections among Black women.

To close the health inequity, McKinsey researchers recommend standardizing maternal health metrics, improving data collection, increasing Black representation in clinical research, expanding comprehensive postpartum care coverage, increasing representation in healthcare occupations and addressing social drivers of health. 

Access the report here. 

The post The path to closing the Black maternal health gap: McKinsey appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.

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