DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — April is Minority Health Month in Ohio, and Montgomery County Public Health is currently wrapping up Black Maternal Heath Week.
Studies show that there is a driving need to pay more attention to the minority community because mortality rates are starkly higher, especially when dealing with Black maternal health.
Black women are two and a half times more likely to die from pregnancy related issues than white women, according to a study conducted in 2020 by the Ohio Department of Public Health.
Additionally, research conducted in 2021 showed that Black babies died three times more than white babies.
This statistic is one of many that are the driving force behind the start of Minority Health Month, and Black maternal health is one of the campaigns Public Health focuses on.
The month of April has been Minority Health Month since 1989. It started with the hopes to have daily events to spread awareness of disparities while educating minority groups on how to create healthier outcomes.
“This is important because we want to make sure that we are providing the resources to those that might not have their needs are met, not know or have awareness about some of the issues that are going on within our communities,” Jasmine Young, Montgomery County Public Health project manager, said.
“We want to provide those resources so that they can be at ease when it comes to their health and know what the next steps are to kind of combat those complications if they have any at all, and to prevent anything from happening.”
More information about Montgomery County Public Health can be found on their website.
