HER Lab - Health Equity & Racism Lab

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This month is Women’s History Month. Did you know that until 1993, women weren’t required to be included in clinical trials in the United States? For decades, much of medical research used the male body as the default model. That shaped everything from drug dosing to how diseases were recognized. We’ve made progress, but representation in research still matters. ♀️

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Maternal health inequity in the U.S. is deeper than income alone.

A Stanford study analyzing all California births from 2007–2016 found that Black mothers and their newborns experience significantly worse health outcomes than white mothers and infants at every income level. In fact:

• Babies born to Black mothers in the top 5% of income are 1.5x more likely to be preterm or have low birth weight than babies of white mothers in the bottom 5%.
• High-income Black mothers face the same risk of dying within a year of childbirth as the poorest white mothers.
• Infant mortality among the wealthiest Black families mirrors that of the lowest-income white families.

The research challenges a long-standing assumption that economic advancement alone can close health gaps. The data suggests otherwise. If we’re serious about advancing women’s health, leadership, and equity, maternal health for all women must be part of the conversation.