In the United States, African American women confront striking statistics as they form partnerships, become parents and care for their children. African American women are three-to-six times more likely to die during pregnancy and the six weeks after delivery than U.S. white and Latina women. That holds true across various levels of income and education. In fact, some studies find middle-income and highly educated African American women at higher risk.

Black women form 12 percent of the United States’ female population but represent nearly half of maternal mortalities.

Compared to any other group of women, black women are least likely to breastfeed a child exclusively at six months, a government target for promoting healthier children. Consistent nursing also reduces a woman’s risk of  breast and ovarian cancers–protection especially important to African American women who are more vulnerable for these types of cancers.

How to explain these pregnancy experiences? The stress of living with racism–from workplace discrimination to maltreatment in maternity wards — is now a leading hypothesis.