or pregnancy-associated deaths occur while a person is still pregnant. Yet, for women eligible for the Medicaid program on the basis of pregnancy, such Medicaid coverage lapses at the end of the month on which the 60th postpartum day lands. (21) The experience of serious traumatic events, such as being exposed to domestic violence, substance use disorder, or pervasive racism, can over-activate the body’s stress-response system. Known as toxic stress, the repetition of high doses of cortisol to the brain can harm healthy neurological development, which can have cascading physical and mental health consequences, as documented in the Adverse Childhood Experiences study of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (22) A growing body of evidence-based research has shown the correlation between the stress associated with one’s race—the stress of racism—and one’s birthing outcomes. The stress of sex and race discrimination and institutional racism has been demonstrated to contribute to a higher risk of maternal mortality, irrespective of one’s gestational age, maternal age, socioeconomic status, or individual-level health risk factors, including poverty, limited access to prenatal care, and poor physical and mental health (although these are not nominal factors). African-American women remain the most at risk for pregnancy-associated or pregnancy-related causes of death. When it comes to preeclampsia, for example, which is related to obesity, African-American women of normal weight remain the most at risk of dying during the perinatal period compared to non-African-American obese women. (23) The rising maternal mortality rate in the United States is driven predominantly by the disproportionately high rates of African-American maternal mortality. (24) African-American women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy or maternal-related distress than are White women, yielding one of the greatest and most disconcerting racial disparities in public health. (25) Compared to women from other racial and ethnic