While the Preeclampsia Foundation has been championing patient advocacy and representation for all families affected by hypertension in pregnancy throughout our 25 year history, we recognized the uniquely difficult experiences of Black women in our community over the years. There's both tragedy and recognition in the recent headlines that highlight the rise of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S., and the role of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). 

Preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect 5-10% of all pregnancies here in the U.S., and Black women are 60% more likely to develop it compared with non-Hispanic white women. We have listened to the experiences of Black women in our community for years, sharing the frustrating truth that their pregnancy and postpartum care is often delayed, their diagnoses denied, and their voices dismissed.

As our nation examined its own poor record with inequity, the Preeclampsia Foundation team asked ourselves, “how can the Preeclampsia Foundation and our provider community take the next step to meaningfully improve outcomes for Black women and their families specifically related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy?”

That’s where our Racial Disparities Task Force (RDTF) began – a group of maternal health equity thought leaders from research, community based organizations, clinical experience, and lived experiences who came together to build a roadmap for how to address the unacceptably high rates of hypertension-related maternal mortality and morbidity in Black women.

The RDTF Action Plan, published in August 2024 in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, emphasizes strategic priorities – some already underway, and others which need more focus and additional funding and resources. While some of these recommendations, which are centered around the Foundation’s mission pillars of community engagement, improving healthcare practices, and catalyzing research, may feel like common sense, they represent serious gaps in the way that Black women in the US experience care. The report emphasizes an important fact about racial inequity in preeclampsia care: we cannot do this alone.

The Action Plan calls upon healthcare providers, other community organizations and stakeholders to look deliberately at these actionable strategies within their own programs:

1. Manage patients’ chronic hypertension. Don’t normalize hypertension, even if it’s prevalent in the patients and families you serve.
2. Prescribe low dose prenatal aspirin for those with two or more moderate risk factors for preeclampsia. Discuss ways to remove stigma or other barriers to adherence.
3. Improve postpartum follow-up with remote patient monitoring, home blood pressure cuffs, social and structural determinants of health screening, and mental health support.
4. Engage Black women and birthing people, their communities, and the scientific community in research; encourage them to participate in research, especially for maternal health.
5. Support Black researchers to develop research careers and lead HDP research.\
6. Shift the research agenda for HDP management towards precision medicine strategies such as studying variances in hemodynamics and pharmacogenetics.
7. Partner with trusted community organizations who have established relationships, to address these and other strategies. Consider using our matchmaking program to identify HDP survivors who are ready to work alongside you.

“If you share our commitment to ensuring that every woman and her baby safely navigate preeclampsia, we invite you to help us turn this action plan into a reality,” said Eleni Tsigas, Preeclampsia Foundation Chief Executive Officer. “As organizations, we must challenge ourselves to examine our internal and external practices and to thoughtfully consider our strategies for representation within our areas of influence. To truly end racial inequity in the United States, all parties must bring intention to their work, going beyond merely including women of color in their communities.”

At the Preeclampsia Foundation, we started with a few deliberate steps and continue to…

• Amplify and center the voices of Black women and birthing people by creating an Ambassadors Program for our most vocal and influential preeclampsia survivors.
• We co-design “Gathering Table” events with our trusted Ambassadors to reach deep into local communities of color and begin conversations about Black maternal health experiences and preeclampsia.
• We co-designed the “Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research” campaign to increase representation of Black women in the Preeclampsia Registry, an important and trustworthy data collection tool in preeclampsia research and continue to raise awareness of this program in various ways.
• We attend events such as Mama Glow Doula Expo and Essence Festival to listen, learn and build greater understanding of the perspective of women of color.
• We are more intentional about our recruitment and hiring practices for our staff, Board of Directors, Medical Advisory Board, and Patient Advisory Council.
• We partner with the Black Maternal Health Caucus to advocate for the Momnibus legislation, which emphasizes multiple ways in which Black mothers and their families can be supported through pregnancy and the postpartum period.

And you can too…

The RDTF recommendations emphasize strategic priorities and call for action to listen to and amplify the voices and experiences of Black women. It is important to engage diverse communities and foster collaboration across different sectors to improve healthcare practices and advance necessary research to further diagnosis, treatment, and find a cure. 

Want to get involved? Fill out a volunteer interest form so we can connect.