UCI Health expert: diversity in medicine key to solving maternal death crisis
Black women are three times more likely to die than non-Hispanic white women
May 16, 2023
UCI Health Dr. Carol Major is a high-risk
pregnancy expert and chief of maternal-fetal
medicine at UCI School of Medicine.
IN THE NEWS: Maternal deaths in the United States have been increasing for years, hitting Black women particularly hard. The statistics have leaders, policymakers and researchers seeking solutions to the rising maternal mortality rate in the United States, the developed world’s worst.
UCI Health high-risk pregnancy expert Dr. Carol Major spoke to Yahoo! News about one solution: having more Black healthcare providers.
“I have found out that most patients want someone on their team to be a person of color. They feel that they will be better understood if that person taking care of them looks like them.”
Major is a board-certified UCI Health obstetrician specializing in maternal-fetal medicine.
She is chief of maternal-fetal medicine at the UCI School of Medicine and the founding director of its program to advance medical education for Black students: Leadership Education to Advance Diversity—African, Black and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC). It is the first program in the nation created specifically to develop physician-leaders who will serve the unique health needs of ABC communities.
Her research interests include the management of diabetes in pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes and preterm labor.
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