From the Health Start Epic Center website:
Each year in the United States, approximately four million women give birth. While most women have a safe pregnancy and deliver a healthy infant, this is not the case for all. Major and persistent racial and ethnic disparities exist for infant mortality, maternal mortality and other adverse outcomes such as preterm birth and low birth weight. There is great potential for reducing these disparities by strengthening community-based systems of care and implementing evidence-based interventions to promote women’s and infants’ health.