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BC Mayor Muriel Bowser held an inaugural summit on maternal and child health on Wednesday, marking nearly two years of closure of two maternity clinics in the poorest neighborhoods of the district, particularly at home. women of color.
The summit brought together nearly 1,000 people, including politicians, health care providers and community workers, to discuss best practices for improving health outcomes for women and children.
No specific action plan was presented, the mayor having declared that the summit was an opportunity to put in touch the interested parties, to improve the communication on the services available and to Identify areas for improvement.
"We do not have all the answers," said Miss Bowser, who adopted a girl earlier this year. "There are a lot of things that contribute to our inferior results and we can not continue to do only what we have done in the past."
With a population of about 700,000, the district has the eighth highest maternal mortality rate among states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled by the DC Department of Health.
The most recent data from the CDC show that 29.39 D.C. die from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births, according to reports from the city's health department.
At the national level, black women die during pregnancy at 40 per 100,000 births, compared to white women (12.4) and other races (17.8), according to CDC data.
Maternal deaths in the district, including life-threatening complications, occur at much higher rates. Between 2012 and 2016, about 660 women needed a blood transfusion after childbirth and delivery in the city.
"I do not think we can point to one thing, which is why African American women have a disparate experience compared to their white counterparts," said Miss Bowser. "There are many reasons and why we are here today to determine how to mitigate access problems, education problems, quality issues and do everything we can as a business. Government to place women and their families before delivery. , during delivery and after childbirth.
Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, Director of the Department of Health at Columbia University, said many women heads of delegation were not seen by a doctor in the first three months of pregnancy.
"We need to be able to address this issue across the city as part of a broader effort and this is what we need to discuss today," said Dr. Nesbitt. "We need to meet after the summit more frequently and individually with some of the partners who have not been as connected as we want.
Miss Bowser, health advocates and community workers have noted that communities in need have access to coverage – about 97% of residents in developed countries have health insurance – but available services are poor and under-resourced. used.
When Providence Hospital in Ward 7 closed its maternity ward in October, its 31-bed suite was used at 30 percent capacity, UMAO said at the time.
United Medical Center, in Ward 8, closed its maternity ward in December, after serious quality control issues occurred and its board decided not to invest in improvements, citing the lack of will of the community.
Aza Nedhari, Executive Director of Mamatoto Village, a comprehensive perinatal support service in Ward 7, said that clients often tell her that they meet with disrespectful health staff and racism in other medical institutions that influence their research. of care.
"So you can, and women do it, bypass what is happening in their communities to hopefully get quality services," she said. "And women should not have to be relegated to choose or be forced to choose a service that offers poor quality of care."
Miss Bowser acknowledged the need to increase the number of quality obstetrics and gynecologists throughout the city.
"Our challenge is to make sure we have more specialists serving the eight neighborhoods and we have quality facilities," she said. "The bottom line is that people can go to the hospital or doctor they want, our challenge is to make sure there are high quality options in every place."
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