Despite New Jersey being an affluent state with many top doctors and hospitals, its maternal health report card gets a poor grade. It has been ranked as the state with the 5th worst maternal mortality rate in the US. Tremendous racial disparities exist, with Black maternal health outcomes being significantly worse than those for White women. This issue has been highlighted by Governor Murphy and his wife, who have identified maternal healthcare in New Jersey as a top priority. One of the ways they have addressed this is with their initiative called Nurture NJ, which they established in 2019, whose goal is to end the significant racial disparities in maternal and infant health in New Jersey.
The statistics on maternal healthcare in New Jersey are shocking. According to USA today, New Jersey ranked 5th in the nation for worst maternal death rates with 36.2 maternal deaths per every 100,000 births from 2012-2016. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2018-2020, New Jersey ranked 14th worst with a death rate of 24.1 per 100,000 births. Nurture NJ reports that Black women are seven times more likely to die from childbirth complications than White women. The United Healthcare Foundation states that in New Jersey, Black women have a higher death rate than any other state. In addition, Black infants in New Jersey are three times more likely than White babies to die in their first year.
Three main factors are commonly used to measure maternal health. These include the rate of Cesarean sections, blood pressure complications, and excessive bleeding during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and postpartum. From 2016 to 2021, maternal health appeared to improve. This was demonstrated by the Cesarean section rate dropping from 32.31 per 100 births to 27.77 per 100 births; high blood pressure rates dropping from 8.5 per 100 births to 6 per 100 births; and bleeding rates dropping from 8.25 per 100 births to 7 per 100 births.
Despite these encouraging statistics, the statistics for Black women are still concerning. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association, the complication rates for Black women are notably worse compared to White women.
| RACE | C-section per 100 births | High blood pressure per 100 births | Significant bleeding per 100 births |
| White | 23.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 |
| Asian | 29.0 | 5.6 | 8.2 |
| Hispanic | 24.8 | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Black | 28.8 | 7.4 | 9.9 |
The reasons for these disparities are likely due to social determinants of health including income, housing, education, employment status, health insurance, transportation, access to healthy foods, and access to health care. Discrimination may also be a factor. The “Birthing While Black” article series written by US today network emphasizes the poor outcomes of black pregnant women. Multiple social determinants of health are likely responsible and need to be addressed on an ongoing basis. Carolyn DeBoer, the organization officer, noted, “A hospital has a mom for 48 or 72 hours. They’re not going to solve issues of poverty, housing, education, discrimination right then and there.”
In New Jersey, initiatives such as those highlighted by Governor Murphy and his wife will hopefully continue to help fight the problems of Black maternal healthcare. On January 20, 2023, Nurture NJ awarded $75,000 in grant money to 17 New Jersey startup companies. These companies have goals of developing products and services to promote the well-being of mothers and their children. Examples of the projects include products for morning sickness and special pacifiers which deliver medications. Such programs and initiatives like these will hopefully help to achieve the goal of improved maternal healthcare for Black women in New Jersey.
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