Black mothers dying at alarming rates in Allegheny County, data shows

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Black mothers are dying at alarming rates in Allegheny County.

Preliminary data from the Allegheny County Health Department shows that Pittsburgh has some of the highest maternal death rates in the country, with Black women dying at rates two to three times higher than their white counterparts.

“No one should have to go into their labor and delivery wondering, ‘Am I going to make it off this table?’ But that was a fear from the moment I found out I was pregnant to the moment I came back to the hospital to be induced,” said Mariah Peoples.

Peoples said last year, when she and her husband Demetrious Peoples Jr., found out they were pregnant with their first child, there was immediate excitement. She said that excitement was quickly overshadowed by concern.

“I went to a local hospital and went to their emergency room just to confirm the pregnancy that experience in itself wasn’t the best experience,” she explained.

A wife, college graduate, and daughter of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey; Peoples said in that moment, alone inside of an emergency room, she was made to feel small.

“I felt like I had to be presentable and have my husband present or they wouldn’t treat me with respect,” Peoples said.

This is an experience that too many Black moms said they have felt during their pregnancies.

Black Maternal Health Week, which runs from April 11 to April 17, was created to force the medical community to take a closer look to find out why this is happening.

“Black women, from the time that they take their first break, begin to have macro-micro aggressions throughout their entire lives,” said Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, a professor and academic chair at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine.

According to the National Institution of Health, systemic racism is a key factor in maternal death and illness. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has devoted her career to improving care and treatment.

She explained that while the issue is multi-faceted, systemic racism plays a role. She also detailed how pre-existing morbidities, environmental factors, and continued care also contribute to what she calls “a maternal crisis.”

“We are the worst, so we lose more mothers and more babies than any other resourced county in the world,” Larkins-Pettigrew, said.

Channel 11 News asked both mom and doctor what they think it will take to move the needle.

“We need to see more diversity in our health care system,” Peoples said.

Peoples spent weeks searching for a Black doctor and medical practice that valued her, she hired a doula and asked questions, but says not every mom has that luxury. The state has allocated $2.3 million to change that, and on a county level, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew said experts are working together for the first time.

“We have brought together more than 42 organizations as well as all of the health care systems in our city county,” Larkins-Pettigrew, said.

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