California saw a decrease in the number of women who died giving birth in 2013, as the maternal mortality rate climbed across the country, according to state officials. But expectant black mothers across the state are still three to four times more likely to die from complications at childbirth than white women.
State health researchers say the wide disparity probably isn’t attributed to social factors, such as patients’ levels of education or socioeconomic backgrounds. Instead, they point to evidence of racism and implicit bias in the medical community: A survey of white medical students and residents published in 2016 by the University of Virginia found that roughly half of those who participated believed myths about biological racial differences, including that black patients tolerate more pain and have thicker skin.
Read here.