Diverse Perspectives to Support a Human Rights Approach to Reduce Indiana’s Maternal Mortality Rate

Abstract

Maternal mortality in the United States of America is a human rights issue. This study gathered perspectives from Black women community members and from duty bearers in four fields (academic, special interest, government, and media) on barriers to maternal health in Indiana. Semi-structured interviews and an editing (data-based) analytic strategy revealed six themes regarding barriers to maternal health: lack of continuous, quality health care coverage; racism and implicit bias; trauma and lack of mental health services; lack of instrumental and emotional support systems; insufficient knowledge for self-advocacy; and lack of data transparency and reliability. Participants raised several strategies to address barriers, including continuous high-quality health care coverage, implicit bias training, mental health services, doulas, and grassroots-university partnerships. We discuss these barriers and solutions using a human rights-based approach to health (HRBA). These findings present a blueprint for duty bearers in Indiana to increase women’s ability to claim their right to health.