Let COVID-19 Serve as a Catalyst to Fix National Crisis of Poor Maternal Mortality Data.

Understanding of the rising rates of maternal deaths in the United States, the country with the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world, is limited by inconsistent and incomplete data. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing additional strain to health systems. Meanwhile, confusing or nonexistent rules about how to collect maternal health data during the crisis are making it even more challenging to identify concerning trends. Furthermore, racial disparities in maternal health were persistent even before the pandemic, with Black women 3 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than White women. COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting communities of color, with Black Americans 3 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than White Americans. Are the factors resulting in racial disparities associated with COVID-19 exacerbating the already dire racial disparities in maternal mortality? If so, how severe is the compounding effect? These questions are hard to answer because insufficient data are collected and shared to give public health professionals a view into these challenges. Data collection practices may have been crippled even further with the health care system’s focused efforts to respond to coronavirus pandemic. Without this information, it is harder for public health professionals, policy makers, and care providers to develop