HJBR Jul/Aug 2023

58 JUL / AUG 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE COLUMN  WOMEN’S HEALTH IN A RECENT REPORT of America’s Health Rankings, Louisiana was listed as the least healthy state for women and children. On closer examination, poor health can be attributed in part to the lower value we place on women’s lives in Louisiana. Women and children’s well- being are linked — this is obvious in utero — but the connections between the health of mothers and their children remain inextricable throughout early childhood. Almost half of Louisiana’s children live in single parent homes, and these homes are largely supported by women. Our society often links value to economic remuneration and women are more likely to be poor. Poverty and health health are evenmore elusive. Blackwomen in Louisiana experience a much larger pay gap than white women and suffer from a higher burden of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. The racial wealth gap, a crucial measure of economic health, results in a median white household with 7.8 times the wealth of a typical Black household. The United States is in a maternal health crisis and has the highest rates of maternal mortalityinthedevelopedworld.Louisiana is ground zero for the fight to protect mothers and prevent untimely deaths. Four Black mothers die in Louisiana for every one white mother, compared to a three-to-one ratio nationally, and Black are inversely correlated, and poverty is the strongest determinant of poor health. Women’s work in Louisiana is less likely to be valued than the work of men.As a result, Louisiana women have the largest pay gap in the nation and earn 69 cents for every dollar a man earns. Thirty-five percent of employed women in the state work in low-wage jobs. Lack of affordable child care options, lack of paid sick leave, and lack of adequate reproductive healthcare access add to the burden women bear. Louisiana also has among the nation’s highest rates of violence against women, including women who are murdered by their intimate partner. For women of color, wealth and good CHANGE FOR OUR WOMEN AND MOTHERS OF LOUISIANA