Kwi’Je -Walking the Lady: Native American Maternal Health, Policy and Rebuilding Healthcare Delivery Systems for Indigenous Women Globally

There are over 5.2 million Native Americans, making up approximately 2% of the United States population. Native American women historically have been subject to centuries of policy that has altered the U.S. Native population indefinitely. This includes but is not limited to the forced sterilization of women (Blakemore 2016), the lack of obstetric facilities, criminalization of breast feeding, and the federal definition of an American Indian (Spotted Bear and Soboleff 2024). Today Native American women have higher rates of pregnancy-related deaths than White women (CDC 2023) and are at risk for severe maternal morbidity (Koshimannil 2020).The current study examines the policies that have shaped both infant and maternal mortality rates and offers pathways for addressing the disparate outcomes.