Black Women are Dying in Maternity at Alarming Rates
- Mina Arenella
- Nov 10, 2021
- 4 min read
A Black woman named Shalon Irving died three weeks after giving birth. She was a doctor for the CDC and her work focused on healthcare inequalities. Irving’s history of health problems, including blood clots, coupled with the higher risk of postpartum issues that Black women face “indicated Irving might require close monitoring and follow-up care after giving birth.” However, Irving received a negative test for postpartum preeclampsia and was sent home from the hospital. Five days later, she returned to the hospital after gaining nine pounds and reporting pain and extreme swelling in her leg. Irving was given medication for high blood pressure and was sent home again. She went into cardiac arrest that night and was on life support for a week before her death. Irving was failed by the people she should have been able to trust. Her education level, socioeconomic status, and medical knowledge did not save her from being a victim of the Black maternal mortality crisis.
America has the highest maternal mortality rate of any other developed country. Maternal death is defined by death during pregnancy, delivery, or within one year postpartum. The average maternal mortality rate in the US is 17 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the rate at which Black women die in maternity is 43 deaths per 100,000 live births. Black women are more than 3x more likely to have a maternal death than white women The leading causes of maternal death for Black women include cardiovascular conditions, and blood pressure disorders. Black women are 2x more likely to experience severe maternal morbidity (SMM) at the time of delivery than white women.
Potential Causes:
The cause of Black maternal mortality is very complex, and still not completely understood. Black women in America are at an intersection of inequality; they experience racism, misogyny, and the harmful effects of capitalism that are only exacerbated by their status as Black women. Researchers have begun to piece together the reasons for the Black maternal mortality rate, but more research is needed.
Black women are more likely to be uninsured than white women, and they face more financial barriers to accessing prenatal care.
Black women experience “weathering” more than white women, meaning that their bodies age faster due to chronic stress attributed to socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination, “thus making pregnancy riskier at an earlier age” (National Partnership for Women and Families).
Hospitals that serve predominantly Black areas have higher rates of maternal complication than other hospitals.
Black women have a harder time accessing reproductive healthcare, including contraceptives, counseling, and abortion.
The history of doctors and gynecologists experimenting on enslaved Black women, as well as the inferior treatment that Black women have historically received, can cause distrust in doctors.
However, class alone can not account for the disparity.
Pregnant Black women face discrimination. 22% of Black women report being discriminated against at the doctor or clinic.
According to NPR, “A 2016 analysis of five years of data found that Black, college-educated mothers who gave birth in local hospitals were more likely to suffer severe complications of pregnancy or childbirth than white women who never graduated from high school.”
This is a direct result of racism. Black women’s pain is undervalued, and their voices are not believed. NPR illustrates this occurrence with examples from Black mothers.
Shalon Irving is by no means the only Black woman affected by disparities in maternal mortality. The article “Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving's Story Explains Why” tells the story of another Black woman who suffered as a result of the inequity:“There was the new mother in Nebraska with a history of hypertension who couldn't get her doctors to believe she was having a heart attack until she had another one. The young Florida mother-to-be whose breathing problems were blamed on obesity when in fact her lungs were filling with fluid and her heart was failing. The Arizona mother whose anesthesiologist assumed she smoked marijuana because of the way she did her hair. The Chicago-area businesswoman with a high-risk pregnancy who was so upset at her doctor's attitude that she changed OB/GYNs in her seventh month, only to suffer a fatal postpartum stroke.” Biased treatment from medical professionals, whether conscious or unconscious, puts Black women in danger.
So what can we do to reduce Black maternal mortality?
Self.com’s Nina Bahadur lists eight action steps.
We need to collect more data.
We need to address maternal mental health care too.
We need to counter implicit bias among medical professionals.
We need to uplift the voices of affected communities and families.
We need to extend Medicaid coverage up to one year postpartum in every state
We need to expand fourth-trimester care.
We need to normalize trauma-informed care.
We need to recognize that stopping maternal deaths is just one part of the goal.
What are tangible steps that we as individuals can take?
Talk about it. The first step to solving a problem is addressing a problem. Because black women are a marginalized demographic, their issues often go unaddressed. Tell the people in your life about the Black maternal mortality crisis. Post about it on social media. Bring it up in your classroom or workplace
Listen to Black women. Read the stories of Black women who have died in maternity. Read about the Black women who have been subjected to malpractice or discrimination by healthcare workers.
Vote for officials who will expand healthcare coverage. Vote for Black women running for office. Ask officials what they plan to do to fix this crisis.
In the words of Malcolm X, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” We must not allow for this statement to remain true. As we achieve gains in the feminist movement, Black women can not continue to be left behind as they have been throughout history.
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