BRASILIA, Brazil – “Black women are the majority of women living in precarious conditions in our country,” said Isabela Cristina Correia de Lima Lima, a Brazilian singer-songwriter, known professionally as IZA. “And of course that extends to pregnancy, to the moment of birth.”
Across the Americas, women of African descent face higher maternal death rates than women from any other racial background, according to a recent report by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. Racist attitudes and practices persist in healthcare, extending from verbal and physical abuse to the denial of quality care, coercive or unconsented medical procedures, refusal of pain medication and violations of privacy.
In Brazil, from contraception to pregnancy and childbirth, inequalities run through reproductive healthcare. In 2024, the maternal mortality ratio among Black women in Brazil was 55 per cent higher than among white women. In the same year, almost 85 per cent of pregnant white women had at least seven prenatal care visits, compared with 77 per cent of Black women
IZA has become an advocate for access to comprehensive maternity care for Black women in Brazil, working with UNFPA’s Across Borders campaign. “I had all the support, all the patience, all the care that a pregnant woman deserves,” IZA, 35, told UNFPA, describing her own pregnancy. “That’s not what happens for most women living in a different situation. I think that in that moment, when I was the most vulnerable in my life, that made me pay even closer attention to this issue.”
Care, time and choices for all
Brazil is one of just three countries in Latin America and the Caribbean – along with Colombia and Suriname – that collect and report maternal health data disaggregated by ethnicity or race. With UNFPA’s support, 18 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean now include ethnic and racial identifiers in their national censuses – a critical step in building inclusive, equity-driven sexual and reproductive health policies and systems.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, UNFPA data show that Afrodescendent girls are 50 per cent more likely to become pregnant in their teens than their non-Afrodescendent peers. Some 20 women die every day from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth, and for Indigenous and Afrodescendent women, the risk is up to three times higher – statistics that indicate historical patterns of race-based reproductive discrimination continue today.
“It is important that we have control and autonomy, specifically over the decisions that have to do with our health and our bodies,” Edna Liliana Valencia, a Colombian journalist, writer and activist, told UNFPA. “The people responsible for public policies at a global level must take concrete actions to protect the lives of Afrodescendent girls and women.”
IZA shares these views. “We need to talk about policies that support this population, that give them access to quality treatment, so they can choose, […] so they have access to psychological care, that they have support during breastfeeding, which is a very delicate moment. And that shouldn’t be limited to people with financial means, it should be the reality for all of us.”
Comprehensive care is critical for well-being
IZA also spoke about the mental health concerns that motherhood can bring. “There’s this mistaken idea that we’re strong, that we’re warriors, that we can endure anything. We don’t have to endure everything, we don’t have to be strong all the time, and society shouldn’t demand that of us.”
This belief was shaped by the birth of her daughter, Nala. “After I became a mother, it became very clear to me how much strength there is in vulnerability,” she said
“I think it’s important for Nala to see how much that’s part of who we become. So I’ve allowed myself to be more vulnerable, I take better care of myself, because the more I care for myself, the better mother I am.”
Equality and access are key
Through initiatives like Leave No One Behind in Central America, UNFPA is partnering with governments and communities to expand access to family planning, provide culturally affirming sexuality education, and strengthen adolescent-responsive services for Afrodescendent and Indigenous girls
“As a Black woman and a mother, I know that motherhood can bring immense joy, but also expose deep inequalities,” said Florbela Fernandes, UNFPA Representative in Brazil. “Dignified, respectful and racism-free care must be a right for every woman, never a privilege.”
To dismantle the systemic barriers that marginalized women face, UNFPA supports inclusive health and policy initiatives across Latin America and the Caribbean. For instance, in Colombia, the Partera Vital equips birth attendants with mobile technology to more easily register births among Afrodescendent communities – where home births are more prevalent– and trains them to identify pregnancy risks. And in the Dominican Republic, mobile medical teams travel distances to reach pregnant women in Afrodescendent and other marginalized communities.
