South Carolina sees drop in pregnancy-related deaths; Black mothers remain at higher risk

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — The number of pregnancy-related deaths in South Carolina is decreasing, but racial disparities are widening.

Black mothers are 4.2 times more likely to die than white mothers, according to a recent study by the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

DHEC’s South Carolina Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee’s 2024 legislative brief looks at data from 2018 to 2020 and found that 95% of these deaths were considered preventable.

Local maternal health experts say better education is necessary to change that.

“We want our patients to be educated throughout the entire process to ensure that they have the best outcomes, not only for themselves but for their babies as well,” said Simone Lee, reproductive justice director for the Beloved Early Education and Care (BEE) Collective.

READ MORE: "South Carolina's healthcare crisis: life expectancy, infant mortality, mental health."

Out of all 50 states, South Carolina has the eighth-highest maternal mortality rate.

However, certain women are affected by it most largely because discrimination is one of the biggest contributing factors in pregnancy-related deaths.

“This is alarming because it's referring to discrimination in healthcare settings, not just society as a whole. It manifests in different levels of care given, and clinical communication and in that, shared decision making,” said Danielle Wingo, director of DHEC’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Community-based organizations like the BEE Collective said its volunteers are working on the ground to better educate mothers. The group offers advocacy training for parents to help make them feel comfortable speaking up in medical spaces.

READ MORE: "Health care crisis: Higher numbers of black mothers dying giving birth."

But Lee insists it can’t be all on the patient.

“We also need providers to look at their practices and to just educate themselves on culturally responsive practices in order to allow individuals to get the care that they not only need but also deserve,” she said.

Health concerns don’t stop after delivery. The study also found that more than half of the state’s pregnancy-related deaths happened postpartum.

“15% of deaths occurred on the day of delivery, and that is combined data from 2018 through 2020. But it also told us that 33.3% of those deaths took place between days 43 and one year,” Wingo explained.

READ MORE: "South Carolina among states extending health care coverage for new moms."

This is an area where the BEE Collective hopes to offer more support, specifically seen in services like postpartum doulas.

“Isolation is huge for a lot of our individuals who come through our agency,” Lee said. “We find that most of them, the biggest thing that they want is a community to be in, a space with other people who they have similar life experiences.”

DHEC also found that mothers living in rural areas are more likely to die.

Eleven of South Carolina’s 31 rural counties do not have an Obstetrics (OB) provider. The agency has requested funding for mobile units to try and meet women with help where they are.