Black Maternal Disparities

By: Adande, Bala and Gabriel

Slavery & Black Womens Reproduction

Historical information that should be known prior:

• Black women were field workers, child carers, expendable yet Invaluable at the same time
• Interest in their reproductive system skyrocketed after the slave trade was abolished
• Health was a financial investment and was primarily used to gauge a slaves’ usefulness while preserving the slave masters investment. It was never about the slaves’ well-being
• Gynecological discoveries and advancement were all made possible through the mutilation and experimentation of slaves slave
• Reproductive care was found in midwifery and herbal treatment that would be practiced by fellow enslaved women. Especially because health care for them looked different and they couldn’t rely on white doctors due to discrimination and racism they experienced already. So naturally they relied on communal knowledge. There were pros and cons to doing this.

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History of Black Maternal Disparities

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- The Legacy of slavery reflects on Black women's health today as structural racism which leads to huge number of maternal and infant deaths.

- The disparities that is between black and white infant death is bigger than it was during antebellum.

- Mortality that is associated with pregnancy is three to four times higher among black women than it is among white women.

- The History of medicine shows that women of color have not always been listened to or believed because doctors thinks black women can endure pain than white women which can lead to both infant and maternal mortality.

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-Black women were experimental objects during slavery via the development of gynecology and obstetrics.

-Disparities in maternal and infant health stems from Physicians and doctors venture in serving the interest of slave owners.

-Important Health inequalities and disparities highlights a very dark and hard reality in society and the history of medicine.

-The three main causes of infant mortality are: Prematurity/low

birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome and preventable injury.

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Black Women’s Medical Influence

Community Care without Hospitals

African Americans have a lengthy history of relying on those within their communities. The Black communities taking health into our own through several points in history

Booker T. Washington 1880’s, Marcus Garvey 1920’s, SNCC 1960’s, Black Panther’s 1970’s

Community based programs filled the gaps deliberately made by the current systems

Programs were fully funded and structured by community members

These care solutions were, sanitation campaigns, education programs, clinical trainings, food/nutrition programs

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Current Black Maternal Disparities

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• “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias” cdc.gov
• In 2020 the maternal rates for non-hispanic black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births
• Black women are 3- 4 times more likely to die more than white women.

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Plans of Action

• Collecting data that point to what is causing these rates to be so high will allow the medical field to be knowledgeable of what causes most of the maternal mortality rates, as well as implement certain procedures to take place in order to decrease these rates.
• The mental health of mothers need to addressed, because postpartum care is just as important as the care mothers need during pregnancy. For example postpartum depression in black women is less likely to be treated simply because black women are less likely to seek treatment.
• The health care systems should dismantle Implicit biases towards their patients. Black women experience the most bias compared to white women. Having courses required for healthcare professionals take will help limit these biases and help them to limit negative emotions towards black women.
• Community is extremely important for mothers to be and mothers, by creating outreach programs or therapeutic community centers could help reduce the deaths of these mothers

Establishing Community Doulaship

Doula’s are mitigating factors for decreasing maternal mortality and many other risks to birthing risk. Establishing Doulas in communities will especially help communities of colors and low income communities. Community Doulas help provide culturally sensitive pregnancies, education etc. A doula is a professional labor assistant who provides physical and emotional support to you and your partner during pregnancy. Data has shown that community based doulas improve outcomes for black mothers.

“The idea is that supporting Black mothers with doulas hired by community-based organizations can do more to improve health outcomes and reduce racial health disparities than programs that don’t use workers with intimate knowledge of the communities they serve.”

Our action would include generating community funds through hosting maternal educational events and train local women into doulaship and to have them work alongside pregnant community members

This would serve to boost community economies by employing it’s members, establish stronger community ties strengthening support systems, and provide black mothers with everything they need to ensure a smooth and healthy birth, thus increasing their health outcomes and addressing disparities

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Works Cited

1. Adams, Crystal, and Shameka Poetry Thomas. “Alternative Prenatal Care Interventions to Alleviate Black-White Maternal/Infant Health Disparities.” Sociology Compass, vol. 12, no. 1, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12549
2. Gadson, Alexis, et al. “Exploring the Social Determinants of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Prenatal Care Utilization and Maternal Outcome.” Seminars in Perinatology, vol. 41, no. 5, 2017, pp. 308–317., https://doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2017.04.008
3. Noursi, Samia, et al. “Using the Ecological Systems Theory to Understand Black/White Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, vol. 8, no. 3, 2020, pp. 661–669., https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00825-4
4. Owens, Deirdre Cooper, and Sharla M. Fett. “Black Maternal and Infant Health: Historical Legacies of Slavery.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 10, 2019, pp. 1342–1345., https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305243
5. Black maternal and infant health: Historical legacies of slavery. American Journal of Public Health. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305243
6. Alirezaei, S., & Latifnejad Roudsari, R. (2022, January). The needs of incarcerated pregnant women: A systematic review of literature. International journal of community based nursing and midwifery. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8724729/
7. Nelson, Alondra. Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination. University of Minnesota Press, 2013.
8. Small, M. J., Allen, T. K., & Brown, H. L. (2017, June 29). Global disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Seminars in Perinatology. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146000517300514
9. “Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Apr. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html.

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