Show an ad before the article body starts. Desktop

The White House issued its first-ever presidential proclamation on Tuesday to mark Black Maternal Health Week as part of an effort to highlight racial gaps in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths.

Show ads after 10 words.. Desktop

Why it matters: The U.S. retains the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, largely due to high mortality rates among Black mothers, according to research by Commonwealth Fund. Black women in the U.S. are 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.