Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Presentation Abstract
Social and Structural Underpinnings of Pregnancy-Associated Mortality in the United States
Maternal mortality is unacceptably high in the United States and continues to rise despite advancements in medical technology and more spending on health care than any other country on earth. Moreover, deeply entrenched racial inequities in maternal mortality – disproportionate burdens of loss among Black and indigenous communities – persist. Research and interventions to address maternal mortality are beginning to extend beyond the health care setting to consider with equal relevance features of the places where women are born, live, and work; the policies that shape those places as protective or harmful to health; and the very structure and functioning of our society that dictates the distribution of power and resources across people and places. This presentation will explore how ensuring access to maternity care during and after pregnancy is critical to maternal mortality prevention efforts, but alone may be insufficient in ensuring maternal health equity. It will include examples of broader upstream social and structural factors as root causes underlying patterns of pregnancy-associated mortality such as structural racism, income inequality, and violence. Finally, it will include a discussion of critically needed policy evidence and interventions that can remediate harmful social and structural contexts, reverse alarming trends in the frequency of maternal death, and advance maternal health equity.
Behavioral Health Concerns Impacting Postpartum Health
Behavioral health is an essential domain of wellness that holds significant impact on postpartum health. Gaps in this domain are leading contributors to maternal mortality and offer opportunities to refine approaches to postpartum care. This workshop convenes experts who will discuss the impact of mental health, addiction, and gender-based violence on postpartum health with particular attention to social, structural, and policy factors, structural inequities, and bioethics. Research gaps including lack of experimental evidence on clinical and policy interventions and future directions will be identified.
About Dr. Wallace
Dr. Maeve Wallace is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences and the Associate Director of the Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity Research Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She received her Ph.D. degree in reproductive and perinatal epidemiology from Tulane University in 2013 and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Her primary research interests focus on social, structural, and policy conditions that influence maternal health and underlie vast and persistent maternal health inequities in the United States. She works in close collaboration with governmental and community-based partners in order to disseminate relevant epidemiologic research for the purposes of establishing evidence-based policy and programmatic interventions to prevent maternal mortality and promote maternal health and well-being for all persons. Her work in this area is supported by the NICHD.
Dr. Wallace did not disclose any conflicts of interest for this workshop.