An Investigation into the Correlation Between Female Genital Mutilation and Black Maternal Mortality in the United States: A Research Synthesis

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) describes the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an alarming 230 million women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice predominantly carried out in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, with approximately 3 million girls undergoing the procedure annually (World Health Organization, 2024). FGM is internationally denoted as a violation of fundamental human rights that causes lifelong harm to the physical and mental health of women and girls (United Nations, 2024). Today, close to 50 million Americans are classified as immigrants—of which around more than 23 million are female (American Immigrant Council, 2023). Of that population, immigrant women represent 23% of live births in the United States, with large shares of immigrants coming from African countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Ghana—all nations with a prevalence of FGM (Pew Research Center, 2019). Black women in the U.S. face a maternal mortality rate nearly three times higher than white women, at 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births (Center for Disease Control, 2021). With the heightened cases of Black Mortality Rates in the United States, this paper will explore the possible correlation between Female Genital Mutilation and Black Maternal Health in the United States through a literature analysis.