There is a clear relationship between racism and maternal mortality. In the Americas, maternal death rates are five times higher among Black women than among white women11. Although social determinants are relevant, they are not sufficient to explain these disparities, as they persist across different socioeconomic and educational status groups. For example, in the USA, Black women have a maternal mortality rate 5.2 times higher than white women with the same level of education (university level or higher)11.

In Brazil, preliminary data from the Birth in Brazil-2 project, coordinated by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), show that, in 2022, while the maternal mortality rate among white women was 46.6, the rate among Black women was 100.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. Even when health care is provided, these data show disadvantages for Black women and their newborns as compared to white women and newborns11,12. High maternal mortality among Black women reflects historical and structural inequalities, insufficient investments and institutionalized racist practices in the Brazilian health system, such as lower access, delays in health care and poorer care13.

Maternal mortality among indigenous women is also unacceptably high in Latin America. Between 2020 and 2021, 92.2% of maternal deaths associated with COVID-19 in the region were among indigenous and Black women14.

Racism also manifests itself as a structural negligence reflected in data collection. Of the 35 countries in the Americas, only six have maternal death data disaggregated by race. Public policies to reduce maternal mortality must consider the racial markers and confront racism in health.