Deaths due to complications from childbirth remain incredibly high in the US. According to the New York Times, the number of American babies who died before their first birthdays rose in 2022 , significantly increasing the nation’s infant mortality rate for the first time in two decades.

One of the biggest problems is the inequality around these deaths. Even as maternal deaths dropped in 2022 according to a new federal study released in May, the rate for Black women of 49.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births was significantly higher than the rate for white women at 19.0 and Hispanic women at 16.9. And Black newborns are three times more likely to die than white and Hispanic ones.

A 2022 study sheds light on just one of the drivers of these inequalities: maternity care deserts, or counties where there are no hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric care and no obstetric providers. Five percent of counties across the U.S. had less maternity access in 2022 than they did just two years prior, a worrying trend. And such maternity care deserts affect up to 6.9 million women and almost 500,000 births in the U.S. 

More than half of all rural counties in the United States have no hospital services for delivering babies, increasing travel time for parents-to-be and causing declines in prenatal care. They range from Wyoming , where nearly half of counties have no OBGYNs at all, to Mississippi, the state with the lowest number of OBGYNs per capita and, unsurprisingly, the highest rates of infant mortality in the U.S. The problem has been thrown into even starker relief with the closure of more than 400 maternity services across the country between 2006 and 2020, leaving nearly 6 million people in maternity care deserts, according to a study published in January 2023. 

At Genius Guild, we believe that every mother should have equal access to maternity care. That’s why we invested in Health in Her HUE , which is working to reimagine care for every woman of color, including maternity care. Their newest product, Carepoint ,  helps women find answers to reproductive health questions. And their Care Squads–virtual peer support groups–help empower women to take control of their health and get the medical information they need. Genius Guild is proud to work with amazing companies like HHH that are centering women’s lived health experiences around childbirth.