Dr. Shannon M. Clark, MD, FACOG

Everything that's being done is doing the exact opposite. And it's something that I think about every day. It's something that I'm seeing the consequences of more. I've seen things in the past three years that I have not seen in my entire career.

One of the things I teach medical students and residents, there's a difference between health equality and health equity. You walk onto a lever delivery unit and they say, everybody in rooms one through 10 get equal care. Everybody gets the exact same care. That's great. Nobody's going to get anything somebody else doesn't get.

One of the things I teach medical students and residents, there's a difference between health equality and health equity. You walk onto a lever delivery unit and they say, everybody in rooms one through 10 get equal care. Everybody gets the exact same care. That's great. Nobody's going to get anything somebody else doesn't get.

One of the things I teach medical students and residents, there's a difference between health equality and health equity. You walk onto a lever delivery unit and they say, everybody in rooms one through 10 get equal care. Everybody gets the exact same care. That's great. Nobody's going to get anything somebody else doesn't get.

But that's not appropriate because a patient may walk into room three already at a disadvantage based on social determinants of health, based on the tone of their skin, based on other complications. So being equitable also applies, meaning you have to be able to allocate resources to the ones who need it the most. Giving just equal health care may not cut it for that patient in room three.

But that's not appropriate because a patient may walk into room three already at a disadvantage based on social determinants of health, based on the tone of their skin, based on other complications. So being equitable also applies, meaning you have to be able to allocate resources to the ones who need it the most. Giving just equal health care may not cut it for that patient in room three.

But that's not appropriate because a patient may walk into room three already at a disadvantage based on social determinants of health, based on the tone of their skin, based on other complications. So being equitable also applies, meaning you have to be able to allocate resources to the ones who need it the most. Giving just equal health care may not cut it for that patient in room three.

They may need more. Being able to recognize what about that patient in room three is already putting them behind the eight ball. And fixing that is a place to start. But starting on labor delivery is not going to do a whole lot. It starts way back. It starts during the preconception period. It starts during pregnancy. We can't fix everything when they hit the doors for labor and birth.

They may need more. Being able to recognize what about that patient in room three is already putting them behind the eight ball. And fixing that is a place to start. But starting on labor delivery is not going to do a whole lot. It starts way back. It starts during the preconception period. It starts during pregnancy. We can't fix everything when they hit the doors for labor and birth.

They may need more. Being able to recognize what about that patient in room three is already putting them behind the eight ball. And fixing that is a place to start. But starting on labor delivery is not going to do a whole lot. It starts way back. It starts during the preconception period. It starts during pregnancy. We can't fix everything when they hit the doors for labor and birth.

So we need to focus on equitable health care. We also need to focus on acknowledging the roles that social determinants have and the outcomes of our pregnant patients. The other important thing is we got to continue research and data collection. We got to keep researching this. We can't just keep saying we have a maternal mortality crisis and we can throw out stats. Well, why is that happening?

So we need to focus on equitable health care. We also need to focus on acknowledging the roles that social determinants have and the outcomes of our pregnant patients. The other important thing is we got to continue research and data collection. We got to keep researching this. We can't just keep saying we have a maternal mortality crisis and we can throw out stats. Well, why is that happening?

So we need to focus on equitable health care. We also need to focus on acknowledging the roles that social determinants have and the outcomes of our pregnant patients. The other important thing is we got to continue research and data collection. We got to keep researching this. We can't just keep saying we have a maternal mortality crisis and we can throw out stats. Well, why is that happening?

And what are we doing to fix it? We need research on that. And if we keep cutting funding through the NIH, that's not going to happen. We have to acknowledge that racism in healthcare is an issue. We especially have to acknowledge it that racism in obstetrical care is an issue. And we have to start holding people accountable for that and doing more education.

And what are we doing to fix it? We need research on that. And if we keep cutting funding through the NIH, that's not going to happen. We have to acknowledge that racism in healthcare is an issue. We especially have to acknowledge it that racism in obstetrical care is an issue. And we have to start holding people accountable for that and doing more education.

And what are we doing to fix it? We need research on that. And if we keep cutting funding through the NIH, that's not going to happen. We have to acknowledge that racism in healthcare is an issue. We especially have to acknowledge it that racism in obstetrical care is an issue. And we have to start holding people accountable for that and doing more education.

And providers have to recognize both their implicit and explicit biases. And if we're not willing to do that, it's never gonna be fixed. It starts with the individual provider and then it balloons out from there. So we have to acknowledge that racism in obstetrical care has a huge impact on pregnancy outcomes and birth outcomes and neonatal outcomes. We have tons of stats to back that up.

And providers have to recognize both their implicit and explicit biases. And if we're not willing to do that, it's never gonna be fixed. It starts with the individual provider and then it balloons out from there. So we have to acknowledge that racism in obstetrical care has a huge impact on pregnancy outcomes and birth outcomes and neonatal outcomes. We have tons of stats to back that up.

And providers have to recognize both their implicit and explicit biases. And if we're not willing to do that, it's never gonna be fixed. It starts with the individual provider and then it balloons out from there. So we have to acknowledge that racism in obstetrical care has a huge impact on pregnancy outcomes and birth outcomes and neonatal outcomes. We have tons of stats to back that up.

We need to fix it. Those are probably the top three things that I think really need to be addressed first.