Houston Newsmakers for July 28: Maternal Mortality, Komen Breast Cancer Research, Sterling Aviation

Houston Newsmakers, KRPC | By Khambrel Marshall – Meteorologist, ‘Newsmakers’ Host
July 29, 2018

Minority Deaths are Much Higher than the Norm

HOUSTON – Why are maternal mortality rates much higher among minority women. That’s the challenge tackled by the Houston Endowment.

Dr. Erica Giwa, is the Assistant Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Children and Women. She is a guest on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall and says many people assume that socio-economics are at the heart of the problem, but not so.

“When we dig deeper into the issue we see that that’s not really a factor when looking at the African American community,” Giwa said. “Affluent African-American women are dying at the same rate as women that aren’t.”

Elizabeth Love is the Senior Development Director for the Houston Endowment and says many organizations and individuals have come together to look at the problem and come up with possible solutions.

“There’s a group of institutions who have committed to work together to develop a pilot program in two of our highest risk neighborhoods in Houston,” Love said. “Essentially creating a comprehensive and integrated system of care for women.”

The comprehensive report is called “Improving Maternal Health in Harris County: A Community Plan” and can be found at this link.

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