Review Article
Black Box Warning: Cardiovascular Complications Make Motherhood Unsafe for African American Women
Rolanda Lister1*, Scott Baldwin1 and Cornelia Graves2
1Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA
2Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital, USA
Rolanda L Lister, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1161 21st Avenue South, B-1118 Medical Center North, USA.
Received Date: May 20, 2020; Published Date: May 28, 2020
Abstract
Background: In the United States, cardiovascular disease and its complications in pregnancy is the leading killer in mothers. The black maternal mortality rate is quadruple the rate among white women.
Main Body: The reasons for this staggering discrepancy hinge on two central issues: First, black women are more likely to have pre-existing cardiovascular morbidity that increase the risk of maternal mortality. Second, black women are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes including small for gestational age, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. These perinatal complications put them at risk for developing long-term cardiovascular disease.
Conclusions: This article is a call to action to recognize that adverse pregnancy outcomes represent an opportunity to intervene in order to change the long-term cardiovascular health of black women.
Keywords: Maternal mortality; Cardiovascular; African American; Blacks; Whites
Abbreviations: APO (adverse pregnancy outcomes); GDM (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus); PTB (Preterm birth); PEC (Preeclampsia); FGR (Fetal growth restriction); IUFD (Intrauterine Fetal Demise).
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Rolanda Lister, Scott Baldwin, Cornelia Graves. Black Box Warning: Cardiovascular Complications Make Motherhood Unsafe for African American Women. W J Gynecol Women’s Health. 4(1): 2020. WJGWH.MS.ID.000578.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.