NC Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Durham) speaks at a news conference on June 10, 2026, surrounded by supporters of legislation aimed at reducing pregnancy-related deaths among Black women. (Photo: Lynn Bonner/NC Newsline)
Healthcare providers, advocates and politicians gathered in Raleigh Wednesday to push for state laws and grant programs they say would reduce pregnancy-related deaths among Black women.
In North Carolina, the Black maternal death rate was 61.4 for each 100,000 births from 2019-2023, according to America’s Health Rankings. The maternal mortality rate for white women was 22.3 per 100,000 births.
Nationally, Black women die from pregnancy-related complications and conditions at about three times the rate of white women.
Speakers pointed to implicit bias, inadequate support for women after they give birth, and lack of access to doulas and midwives as reasons Black mothers are more likely to die.
Dr. Michele Benoit-Wilson, an OB-GYN in Raleigh, presented vignettes to illustrate the potentially deadly consequences of inadequate postpartum care, lack of access to addiction specialists, and doctors dismissing Black women’s reports of worrying symptoms.
An NC police officer died during pregnancy. Her family says it didn’t have to happen.
Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable now “with the policies, the funding, and the moral imperative that we, as citizens of this state, owe to every family who calls it home,” Benoit-Wilson said.
A 2025 state report on maternal deaths in North Carolina from 2018-2020 found that 87% were preventable.
But legislation filed in North Carolina aimed at preserving Black women’s lives faces new hurdles in an era of anti-diversity and anti-equity policies.
Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Durham), sponsor of bills to reduce the Black maternal death rate, said “individuals who want to ignore data” have created the obstacles.
Murdock has filed versions of a Momnibus bill for several sessions. The latest version would have the state establish a required implicit bias training program for healthcare professionals, set up a grant program aimed at improving the health of pregnant Black women, establish a training program to recruit a diverse lactation support workforce, and expand access to medical care in maternity care deserts. The Senate’s Republican leadership has never granted the bills a hearing.
Still, it’s important to continue to talk about the high Black maternal death rate and to offer solutions despite the political climate, Murdock said.
“We are making strides, but we still have a very long way to go,” Murdock said. “Now more than ever, we have to continue beating the drum as some people want to ignore the data. The data is here.”
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