Tennessee State University is joining in on the fight against high maternal mortality rates in the state. The university received a $2.3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Maternal mortality rates increased 40% between 2020 and 2021. They've jumped from 861 deaths to 1,205, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC defines maternal mortality as the death of the mother while pregnant or 42 days after giving birth. The five-year grant provides funding for a new research center focused solely on maternal health studies.

Dr. Wendelyn Inman is Tennessee State University's interim Public Health Program Director. She talked about the importance of more research centers like the one they are currently planning.

“We are going to have research centers so we can train doctoral, master's level, and undergraduate students to join the public health workforce and the healthcare workforce to make a difference from the inside out,” she said. “HRSA knows that if we can get more African American providers out there, we will see better outcomes. This will also highlight the pivotal role it plays in addressing the root causes of maternal mortality.”

The emphasis on African American healthcare professionals is key to the grant. African American women have higher maternal mortality rates than their White and Hispanic counterparts, according to the World Health Organization. Black women mortality rates were up to 2.6 times higher than White women in 2021.

“Especially being a Black woman of childbearing age, knowing the importance of how high the rates of maternal mortality are among Black women that look like me,” said J'La Jenkins, a second-year Master of Public Health student at the university. “It is important that we have TSU, which is in the heart of a Black community, to be the research center for this work.”