Social Injustices in the Birthing World
One evening I was sitting next to a woman doctor at a charity dinner. I was excited and eager to ask her about her views and thoughts on social injustices in maternal health. Her story was not what I wanted to hear, but what I knew I would.
Maybe this conversation got too deep for a first meeting, but these stories need to be told and heard. She began to share with me, “I did my residency on the labor and delivery floor of a small Florida hospital where there was a large Haitian population. The Haitian women have a cultural song that is sung to the woman in labor, it’s a song of ceremony and community.” I knew what she spoke of, I have heard this hymn. She then explained, “The staff made fun of it, they had their own version they would sing in the staff room, but their version was not beautiful or kind, they were mocking and cruel.”
She told me that when women would come to the hospital with their Birth Plan in hand the staff would throw it away or completely ignore it. She also mentioned quickly without going into detail that the hospital encouraged staff to have the laboring mothers sign the consent to have their tubes tied immediately following birth. Many of the women not being English or Spanish speakers were encouraged to sign this consent while in labor…. While focused on birthing a child, while they were most vulnerable… This is called medical bullying and forced sterilization. It is cruel.
Birth wasn’t always like this; it wasn’t in a cold hospital with bright lights and a revolving door of strangers entering the room. Throughout history, the birthing of a child was a community event that celebrated the mother and prepared her for the new life. Babies were brought into the world in their homes with midwives, groups of women and/or with town physicians.
The maternal health for black women in our country is unacceptable compared to the care of their white counterparts; this includes disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy and birth.
According to the CDC in 2011 -2012 the pregnancy mortality rate for black women was 41.1 per 100,000 while it was 11.8 per 100,000 for white women. That is almost 4 times more!
According to the Center for Human Rights, the rate at which mothers die during birth is the greatest indicator of overall health for a nation. However, Amnesty International’s 2010 Deadly Delivery Report states that there are no federal requirements to report maternal deaths in the US and the figures may be twice as high!
These numbers and statistics are not representational of income or education. These disparities still exist with black women who are well educated and have higher incomes.
An estimated 60% of U.S. maternal deaths are preventable. Racism and bias makes pregnancy and childbirth even more dangerous for black mothers. What can we do to support the black community and their birthing mothers? By supporting black birth workers, they are essential to make BIPOC birthing people feel seen and heard. There is an issue accessing doulas, midwives and birth education and reproductive justice. Being informed can help women to feel as though they are in control of their birth.
Choice Empowers!