Every year in the United States, millions of pregnant people give birth, but hundreds die during childbirth. Many of these deaths are preventable, yet early warning signs are frequently ignored, and treatments are delayed until it's too late. Racial disparities in these death rates are clear; Black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy in comparison to White women. This disparity is influenced by factors such as quality in healthcare, underlying conditions, and implicit bias. Expanding into the idea of bias, many times when Black women report early signs of dangers during pregnancy, it's pushed aside by healthcare professionals. There are many missed diagnoses and delays of crucial medicines. This issue is compounded by structural racism and inattentive care. There is no denying bias in medical staff, as black women are excessively drug tested in labor and delivery wards. Due to this discrimination, Black women face unnecessary risks when giving birth. Paid maternity leave is another critical factor in ensuring healthy babies and moms. Black women are less likely to have paid leaves in comparison to white women, which contributes to maternal health.
As for legislation, there is a push for updating the “Build Back Better Act," which works on investments in agriculture, climate change, and social programs like healthcare, child care, and paid leaves. This update would include important maternal health investments, such as funding and resources. In addition, the Maternal Black Momnibus Act of 2021 was also made in terms of this crisis. It outlines health services, improving data collection, social determinants for health, and much more.
The roots of these disparities are embedded in historical racism. James Marion Sims, known as the “father of gynecology," conducted brutal and non-consensual experiments on enslaved Black women, using their bodies to advance medical knowledge. These early practices were based on racist ideologies, such as that Black women did not experience pain as intensely as White women. Many deeply rooted racist ideologies held by early doctors, such as the belief that Black women don't experience pain, have been a bias in today's medical practice. It was even found in a study that physicians are twice as likely to underestimate the pain of their black patients (Staton et al.).Another study using white medical students found that many of them believed African Americans had thicker skin and less sensitive nerves in comparison to white people. Many rated the pain of a black patient as less severe compared to a white patient and thus less likely to recommend treating the black patient (Hoffman et al.). The legacy of medical racism is strong today, and overcoming this issue means reducing biases and allowing black women and all marginalized groups to have access to better healthcare, resources, and staff.
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality.” Www.cdc.gov, 8 Apr. 2024, www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html.
February 17, Kara Manke|, et al. “Historian Uncovers Gynecology’s Brutal Roots in Slavery.” Berkeley News, 17 Feb. 2020, news.berkeley.edu/2020/02/17/historian-uncovers-gynecologys-brutal-roots-in-slavery/.
Herman, Jonnea. “The Worsening U.S. Maternal Health Crisis in Three Graphs.” The Century Foundation, 2 Mar. 2022, tcf.org/content/commentary/worsening-u-s-maternal-health-crisis-three-graphs/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzIK1BhAuEiwAHQmU3nUkhCyZsAEqtdDcIHn. Accessed 26 July 2024.
Hoffman, Kelly M., et al. “Racial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment Recommendations, and False Beliefs about Biological Differences between Blacks and Whites.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 113, no. 16, 4 Apr. 2016, pp. 4296–4301, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843483/, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516047113.
Raphael, Kate. “Racial Bias in Medicine.” Harvard Global Health Institute, 5 Feb. 2020, globalhealth.harvard.edu/racial-bias-in-medicine/#:~:text=Race%2Dbased%20physiological%20myths%20have.
Staton, Lisa J., et al. “When Race Matters: Disagreement in Pain Perception between Patients and Their Physicians in Primary Care.” Journal of the National Medical Association, vol. 99, no. 5, 1 May 2007, pp. 532–538, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17534011/.
Winny, Annalies, and Rachel Bervell. “Solving the Black Maternal Health Crisis | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health.” Publichealth.jhu.edu, 12 May 2023, publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/solving-the-black-maternal-health-crisis.
Zellars, Rachel. “Black Subjectivity and the Origins of American Gynecology – AAIHS.” Aaihs.org, 31 May 2018, www.aaihs.org/black-subjectivity-and-the-origins-of-american-gynecology/.
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