This Dr. Nicole says episode is about the recent CDC study examining mistreatment and

discrimination in birth.

Welcome to the All About Pregnancy and Birth Podcast.

I'm Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, a board OBGYN, who's been in practice for nearly 15 years.

I've had the privilege of helping over 1,000 babies into this world, and I'm here to help you

be calm, confident, and empowered to have a beautiful pregnancy in birth. Quick note, this podcast

is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute

for medical advice. Check out the full disclaimer at Dr. Nicole Rankins.com forward slash disclaimer.

Now let's get to it.

Hello there. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Whether this is your first time tuning in or your returning listener.

I'm so glad you're spending some of your time with me today.

In today's episode, I'm going to break down the recent CDC study that examined mistreatment and discrimination in birth.

It's called Vital Signs, Maternity Care Experiences,

United States, April, 2023. And we are just going to hop right into it. So the reason that

they did this study is because maternal deaths increased in the United States between 2018 and 2021, with, of course, documented racial disparities.

And we know that respectful maternity care that is preventing mistreatment, communicating effectively,

providing care equitably can be integrated into strategies that aim to improve quality

of care and reduce pregnancy-related deaths as taken

straight from the study.

So we know that 80% of maternal deaths are preventable.

And again, respectful maternity care is an important part of reducing that.

And you're going to find some unfortunate information or data about

...