In 1967, the Kerner report stated
that in America there were “two societies, one black and one white- separate
and unequal.” In 2018, it might be easy to believe that following the passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 as well as America having a black president
that those two societies would have merged and would be equal. However, that is
not this case.
These separate and unequal societies
can be seen in many things today but one that would probably not be considered
is the maternal mortality rate. The United States already has a higher than
average maternal mortality rate, and, when that rate is broken down Black women
are three times as likely to die during childbirth as their white counterparts.
The separation between these two statistics can be pointed to through various
factors the disparities between poverty, obesity, and lack of access to top
rated health care. But interestingly enough researchers also pointed to factors
that are inherent to being a black woman giving birth such as racism and unconscious
bias in the healthcare system.
In other words, not only are black
women who give birth subject to the systematically ingrained disparities
economically, and access to things such as healthy food and top-rated health
care but they are subject to being three times more likely to die during
childbirth solely because of who they are. It is vile that the health care
system would continue to contain so much bias and racism that black women have
to be much more worried about maternal death. That they would not receive equal
treatment and equal responses to maternal emergencies. In fact, the three
leading causes of childbirth related death in New York City hemorrhage,
hypertension, and blood clots has multiple options for treatment with varying success.
There needs to a be a universal
response policy on these issues so that maternal mortality rate can go down.
But more than that Black women deserve a healthcare system that does not
contain so many biases against them that it is a contributing factor to their
higher than the national average maternal mortality rate. It is 2018 and the
two societies, one black and one white remain separate and unequal. That
separation is vile in so many ways just one of which is that the systems have
been orchestrated in such a way that your identity as a black woman can lead to
you dying during childbirth. Many changes need to be made but most of all the
privileging of one population over another needs to end.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/childbirth-black-women-mortality.html
Two years ago, GlobeMed had an event screening a documentary about this very topic. "Babyland" centered around the biopsychosocial reasons black mothers were so much more likely to have miscarriages, pre-term infants, and infants below the weight index. Though clearly biased, this documentary brought to light four stories of the real struggles of black mothers in Memphis. From the biological stress of living in a deeply racist society to the social determinants of health (housing, education, housing, etc), this documentary called for actions similar to those you do, Ruth. Policy change is vital, but we also need a change of hearts and minds.
ReplyDeleteThis post and related article really highlight how systemic racism really affects all spheres of life and you point that out so well. Maternal morality is also horrible and awful for the child involved, and it just increases this cycle of injustice that is so readily experienced by the black community. The fact that in the 21st Century, black women are more likely to die during childbirth is testament to the fact that something needs to be done concerning racism in America.
ReplyDeleteI believe I learned about this in a sociology class a few years ago. Aside from cultural stresses put on black women due to their race, I think at least one solution could be to address implicit biases and racism in doctors themselves, starting in medical school. Much of the first two years of medical school is dedicated to learning the ins and outs of the body - why shouldn't there be a larger portion of the curriculum dedicated to the issues in society that are bound to crop up during medical practice? More time spent learning about and understanding biases within the health care system would be beneficial, as opposed to moving the medical class into real world rotations without adequate preparation.
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