Around 1 in 5 American women reported mistreatment from a healthcare provider during their pregnancy, with nearly a third of both Black and Hispanic women reporting being mistreated, according to a recent survey from CDC.

Survey details

For the survey, CDC analyzed data from 2,402 mothers who were asked about their maternity care experience during pregnancy or the delivery of their youngest child. They were surveyed between April 24 and April 30.

In total, 20.4% of respondents reported some form of mistreatment during pregnancy, including 30% of Black respondents and 29.3% of Hispanic respondents.

The most common form of mistreatment reported was healthcare providers ignoring patients, refusing their request for help, or failing to respond to requests for help in a reasonable amount of time. This was reported by nearly 10% of respondents, including just under 12% of Black respondents and 13% of Hispanic respondents. Meanwhile, just under 7% of respondents reported being shouted at or scolded during their maternal care.

In addition, 28.9% of respondents reported experiencing some form of discrimination during their maternal care, including 40.1% of Black respondents and 36.6% of Hispanic respondents.

The most common reason for discrimination was age, reported by just over 10% of respondents, followed by weight, reported by just under 10%.

Meanwhile, 44.7% of respondents reported holding back from talking to a healthcare provider when they had questions or concerns. The most common reason women held back from talking to a provider was believing that what they were experiencing was normal for pregnancy, reported by just under 30% of respondents.

Reaction

Debra Houry, CMO for CDC, said the results of the survey are "unacceptable."

"We know mistreatment and discrimination can have a negative impact on the quality of maternity care. We have to encourage a culture of respectful maternity care," Houry said. "This should be part of greater efforts to improve quality by standardizing care to reduce complications and deaths related to pregnancy and delivery."

"Every mother deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Maternal care is a core component of this nation's healthcare, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to improving maternal health outcomes," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "Bias, stigma, and mistreatment have no place in our healthcare system."

Wanda Barfield, director of CDC's Division of Reproductive Health and an author on the report, said the report "provides evidence that many women are having experiences that are truly unacceptable."

"Every mom deserves respectful and fair and equal care during their pregnancy and delivery," Barfield said.

Barfield added that there needs to be better communication and trust between patients and providers. "We want patients to be comfortable sharing their health concerns with their providers," she said. "It's critical that we healthcare providers in the room make sure that we're taking the time to build trust, actively listening and being culturally aware of the people we're serving."

Barfield also noted that the report wasn't able to determine if its findings were directly related to maternal mortality rates, which spiked by 40% in 2021, marking the worst maternal mortality rates in U.S. history.

"This study doesn't really reflect that," she said. "And I think there's more that needs to be done in terms of better understanding these causes. But we do know from this study that women are reluctant to report their concerns. And we do know that as a result of not reporting concern, there may be an increased risk for pregnancy related complications for both mom and baby." (Cuevas, USA Today, 8/22; Firth, MedPage Today, 8/22; Archie, NPR, 8/22)