The Metro: How can we improve maternal health care in Detroit?

Maternal mortality is high in the U.S. compared with other wealthy countries, and particularly high in Michigan.

Detroit had the highest preterm birth rate of any U.S. city in 2023 at over 15%, according to a new report from the advocacy organization March of Dimes. There are also glaring racial differences in the maternal mortality rate nationally. The number of Black or American Indian women who die as a result of giving birth is over 50 per 100,000 people, while the rates for white, Hispanic, and Asian women are all below 20 per 100,000 people. Several health care and childcare professionals joined The Metro to discuss the risks facing expectant mothers and what can be done to alleviate them.

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Dr. Kara Patek, associate vice president of Wayne State University’s Office of Women’s Health, said that data has shown that racial trends in maternal mortality persist even when comorbidities and existing risk factors are accounted for. 

“That data has really forced medical educators, as well as physicians already in practice, to really look at what are we doing differently between these patient groups,” Patek said. “There’s been a lot of efforts to address that concept of implicit bias.”

Khadijah Bansfield, home-birth midwife and the owner of the Heart and Soul Midwifery, discussed why mothers may choose to give birth at home rather than at a hospital.

“A lot of times that when moms come to me, it’s because they have had a family member who’s had a home birth, or a family member who’s had a traumatic hospital birth, and it’s kind of like, they want to have a more positive birth experience on their own terms,” Banfield said.

Miriam Shumulinskiy, the clinical director at motherhood development center Honey For Moms, explained how new motherhood can affect a person’s mental well-being.

“Motherhood completely changes the way a person sees themself and the world around them,” Shumulinskiy said. “It’s like a part of your body is now disconnected and walking around in the world that we can no longer protect in the way that we would want.”

Carolyn Dayton, director of Wayne State University’s Social Work Early Childhood Support Clinic, stressed the importance of incorporating mental health care for new parents into pediatric care, as new parents are at risk of several postpartum mood disorders.

“Moms, given a shortage of time or a shortage of insurance, will take their baby for care and sort of forgo their own medical care after birth,” Dayton said. “So OB-GYN clinics would be ideal, but moms aren’t always necessarily going back for their six week checkup, so pediatrics is the ideal place to be really screening and delivering services to families with new babies.”

The Metro hosts Tia Graham and Robyn Vincent asked listeners:

“Do you trust the hospital and health care system to deliver your baby? Or does your distrust of the medical system make you not want to have kids altogether?”

Caller Jamila shared her experience having a home birth attended by a midwife:

“With my son, it had to be about 11 or so at night when I was having my contractions,” she said. “We called her, she lives about an hour from me. By the time she got to my house, it was maybe midnight, and she was here, she was coaching my husband and I, and she let everything be as comfortable as possible.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Nov. 25, 2024:

• Pingree Detroit is a worker-owned company that reclaims discarded leather from the automotive industry and fashions it into wearable leather, home goods, footwear and accessories. Founder and CEO Jarret Schlaff and VP of Footwear Operations Nathaniel Crawford joined the show to talk about all that goes into the business.
• Last week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud joined the show to talk about the ICC’s ruling and how Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon are affecting Arab American residents in Dearborn.
• General Motors and Bedrock on Monday announced a $1.6 billion redevelopment plan for the Renaissance Center that calls for demolition of two of the iconic building’s towers. Stephen Henderson sat down with urban consultant Harriet Sapperstein earlier this year to discuss what would become of the RenCen after GM left the site.
• Producer Sam Corey spoke with Jeff Patrick, president and CEO of HardRock HDD, an underground utilities company that’s frequently contracted by Detroit, about the process of removing lead lines in the city.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.