The mortality rate of childbirth in Black Women

May 15 2021

Are you aware statistics show that black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women. Not to mention that most if not all of these deaths were preventable. The main cause for such high statistics is due to racial bias in our healthcare. Black women’s bodies aren't taken seriously by their own peers due to racial bias and harmful stigma against them. Black individuals in general are seen as strong individuals who can endure anything, both mentally and physically. There are multiple reasons why society generalizes black people as strong beings. One reason can be dated back to the 17th-18th century when black people were forced to be slaves and experienced brutal treatment against them. Along with tropes in media such as the “ Strong Black Women” where the character is seen as unbreakable, a mind of steel, determined, and resilient. This trope pressurizes young black girls to be almost a superwoman, concealing their emotions and showing a strong exterior. Lastly, let's not forget the defeminization of black women due to them being seen as masculine. Many black women, including celebrities and historical figures, are constantly questioned about their femininity. Megan Thee Stallion, Niki Minaj, Harriet Tubman and Wendy Willams are a few examples of how society questions the womanhood of black females. All of these reasons have one thing in common, that is black females are strong both body and mind. Because of this they aren't taken seriously by their own peers including doctors, if they do report any pain or discomfort they are often dismissed. However the general audience may assume that the reason for such a high mortality rate for black childbirth is because of poverty not racism. I debunk this, because according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published an analysis of five years’ worth of data, in 2016. This data revealed that “educated middle class black mothers who gave birth in local hospitals were more likely to suffer serious childbirth compared with women of other races who never graduated from high school”(Washington.post). Adding onto this, even female black celebrities have had close death experiences during their pregnancy. Beyonce and Serena Willams have opened up about their health during their childbirth. Starting with Beyonce, it was stated that while she was pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir, Beyonce suffered from preeclampsia which made her bedrriden for a month. Later in an interview she stated “My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later.” Serena Willams also shared a similar experience she was in survival mode having numerous blood clots blocking her arteries while being pregnant with her daughter Olympia. After giving birth to her daughter the problem worsened with her blood clots making her aggressively cough, which led her to open up her c section wound. Upon further inspection doctors discovered a large blood clot in her abdomen. Seeing how even celebrities have had traumatic experiences in childbirth goes to show that this goes further than class. Putting race and economic background aside, I would like to go more in depth of the health factors of black childbirth. Black females are more likely to get fibroids, preeclampsia and physical “weathering” than white women. “Fibroids are abnormal growths that develop in or on a woman's uterus. Sometimes these tumors become quite large and cause severe abdominal pain and heavy periods'' (healthline.com). Preeclampsia which is having high blood pressure during pregnancy and if left untreated it could lead to death. Physcial weathering is when a body ages faster “due to exposure to chronic stress linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination over the life course, thus making pregnancy riskier at an earlier age”(nationalpartnership.org). Personal conclusion:Now as we all know the huge George Floyd incident has sparked an uproar all over America, as I've grown more educated on the topic of racism I've come to know how close minded people can be. Why does the color of our skin determine our opportunities, health, education, safety etc. Biologically aren't we all the same? Trump once promised us that he will make America great again. I don't think he fulfilled his promise and I’ve realized America was never great to begin with... Resources https://www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/02/20/why-are-black-women-at-such-high-risk-of-dying-from-pregnancy-complications https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/18/how-the-cdc-and-others-are-failing-black-women-during-childbirth/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/07/beyonce-serena-williams-open-up-about-potentially-fatal-childbirths-a-problem-especially-for-black-mothers/ https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0361684319883198 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hannaheko/aint-i-a-woman