As part of NYAM’s 175th anniversary celebration in 2022, we’re introducing Then & Now, a new event series that looks back in order to look forward. Then & Now will explore historical roots of critical and timely issues to both understand how we got to where we are today, and to also explore bold new approaches to move health forward. NYAM’s historical experts will bring us along a timeline of innovation to the modern day.
For this event, NYAM Library Director Paul Theerman and NYAM Senior Scholar-in-Residence Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, are partnering to present a panel discussion around race, maternal mortality in historical context, and the general policy and programmatic approaches to addressing the health needs of women and their children today and for the future. Background papers will be shared with registrants in advance of the event.
Differing outcomes in maternal health and mortality strongly correlate with race. Though overall maternal health has greatly improved over the past century—dropping from 607.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1915 to 23.8 in 2020—the improvement is not equally shared. Today, Black mothers die at rates roughly three times those of white and Hispanic mothers.
Our concern extends to the present day—visit our Maternal & Child Health page to learn more about our current initiatives, which include NYAM’s Women’s Health Research and Wellbeing Workgroup, who were instrumental in the creation of this event.