Becoming a Black Mother in America

Kaili Johnson

Ms. Harris

English 2016

15 November 2022

Becoming a Black Mother in America


As Malcolm X once said, "The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman." This couldn't be more true, especially regarding bearing children and giving birth. For centuries the country of America has been plagued with the issue of racial discrimination with the use of slavery, segregation, and unequal opportunities. As a result, Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women.

The article “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obstetrics and Gynecology” by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG) goes over the racial differences in women’s health and healthcare in the United States. It gives some important inequalities in obstetrics and gynecology. Obstetrics and gynecology, as defined by the American College of Surgeons, is “a broad and diverse branch of medicine, including surgery, management of the care of pregnant women, gynecologic care, oncology, and primary health care for women.”(ACS). This article gave statistics such as, “out of 100,000 live births, there were 46 that ended in the death of the mother, 26 of those were black women”(ACOG). The ACOG got this statistic from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative. It showed that Black women are less likely to survive childbirth than any other women of a different race. The article also gave a few reasons for disparities in receiving proper care on the patient and practitioner levels. The article states in the Patient-Level Factor paragraph, “genetic variations may differ between racial or ethnic groups”(AGOC), meaning that certain races have genetic diseases that only affect them in a majority. Most diseases or illnesses were only studied in white males, so diseases such as sickle cell anemia that mainly affects African descendants don’t have a lot of research. This can cause a disparity in receiving the proper care. The article also says in the Practitioner-Level Factor paragraph that “stereotyping and implicit bias on the part of healthcare providers may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in health”(AGOC). The article gave an example in the same paragraph that “social and demographic biases have been shown to affect practitioners’ recommendations for long-acting reversible contraceptive methods to women at risk of unintended pregnancies”(AGOC). Meaning that the doctor's opinion on where you live or your social status can affect whether or not they recommend birth control.


However, the article also discusses many solutions that can help reduce racial disparities in obstetrics and gynecology. Such as raising awareness among the healthcare community, doctors, practice staff, and office staff. The article says, “Identifying and developing initiatives to target specific disparities within local healthcare systems can help reduce the inequality in the medical field”. (AGOC). Other solutions include educating the staff of community resources for women, helping educate women on health education and literacy, and encouraging the entire healthcare system to improve women’s healthcare to reduce disparities. While it is amazing they have come up with solutions, I don't believe Black women should have to advocate to receive the right treatment or to be seen as humans that experience pain. They should already receive the best care their doctors or nurses can give, but instead, they experience social death during one of the most important days of their life.

The Black Gothic is not just words on paper, a video on a screen, or a picture. It is real-life situations that are so horrific it seems unreal. Unfortunately, for Black women, becoming a mother is what many women dream of.











Resources

Chinn,Juanita Iman K. Martin, and Nicole Redmond. “Health Equity Among Black

Women in the United States.” Journal of Women's Health.Feb 2021.


FitzGerald, C., Hurst, S. “Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review.”  BMC  

Med Ethics 18, 19 (2017). 


Mrholtshistory, director. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Apr. 2008, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIEKe8fVmg. Accessed 16 Nov. 2022.


Petersen EE, Davis NL, Goodman D, et al. “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related 

Deaths — United States, 2007–2016.” U.S. Department of health and Human Services/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obstetrics and Gynecology.”   

ACOG,https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2015/12/racial-and- ethnic-disparities-in-obstetrics-and-gynecology.


Sabin, Janice A. “How We Fail Black Patients in Pain.” AAMC, 6 Jan. 2020,

https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain. 


Vogt, Val Y. “Obstetrics and Gynecology.” ACS, 

 https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/education/programs/so-you-want-to-be-a-surgeon/section-iii-surgical-specialties/obstetrics-and-gynecology/#:~:text=Obstetrics%20and%20gynecology%20is%20a,primary%20health%20care%20for%20women.


“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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