Ep 41: From 18% to 80%: The Pregnancy Risk America Ignores

Why is giving birth in the United States still so risky—especially for Black and Native American mothers? In this powerful episode of Boombostic Health, host Bradley Bostic sits down with Tiffany Hall, a nurse and maternal health expert who has spent decades on the frontlines of patient care and blood management. Tiffany exposes the hidden pregnancy risk no one is talking about: anemia.

Drawing from both clinical experience and hc1’s MyBloodHealth technology, Tiffany explains how anemia silently drives up rates of hemorrhage, heart complications, postpartum depression, and even maternal death. And while anemia is often missed in early pregnancy (18% of women in the 1st trimester), it skyrockets to 80% by the 3rd trimester—when it’s far harder to manage.

The conversation also dives into the stark racial disparities in maternal outcomes: Black and Native mothers die at a rate of 49.5 per 100,000 births, compared to 19 per 100,000 for white mothers. Tiffany unpacks how fragmented care, lack of early screening, and systemic inequities continue to put mothers and babies at risk—despite being preventable.

But it’s not all grim. Tiffany also shares how HerCare powered by MyBloodHealth is giving providers the tools to proactively identify risk, streamline workflows, and deliver better outcomes for both moms and babies.

Guest: Tiffany Hall, Nurse and Director of cPBM Clinical Technology at hc1

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• 📊 The shocking stats: anemia’s rise from 18% in the 1st trimester to 80% by the 3rd

• ⚠️ How anemia fuels hemorrhage, cardiovascular problems, and postpartum depression

• ✊ Why Black and Native mothers face mortality rates more than 2X higher than white mothers

• 🧪 How lab-driven insights can flip care from reactive to proactive

• 💡 How HerCare simplifies provider workflows and closes dangerous gaps in maternal care

Why It Matters

Every statistic in this episode represents mothers, babies, and families forever changed. Tiffany’s message is clear: maternal deaths and injuries in the U.S. are preventable—but only if we address hidden risks early and make proactive care the standard.

 

Chapter Highlights:

00:00 – Intro & Guest

01:57 – Tiffany’s Background

04:46 – Mothers & Babies at Risk

05:29 – Broken U.S. Care System

08:18 – 49.5 vs 19: The Disparity

10:09 – Hidden Risk: Anemia

11:57 – How HerCare Works

19:23 – Awareness & Policy Change 

22:07 – The Future of Maternal Care

27:56 – Closing & Takeaways