While outrage against Repubs is warranted, Black maternity and infant mortality has been unacceptable for way too long..
Last edited Wed Mar 27, 2024, 05:19 PM - Edit history (1)
The recent death of Krystal Anderson highlights the health disparities in Black birthing women.
Even Serena Williams, who has resources and is in amazing physical shape had trouble. The day after giving birth to her daughter, she was short of breath. Having experienced blood clots in the past, she had no doubt that she was struggling with a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. The trouble was no one believed her.
Dr. Chaniece Wallace, a Black pediatrician in Indianapolis died in 2020 due to preeclampsia complications two days after giving birth to her daughter.
In 2023, Tori Bowie, an elite Olympic athlete, died of complications from childbirth. Tori Bowie, who captured gold as a sprinter in the Olympics and the world championships, died at age 32 from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report.
Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications.
In NYC, the Black maternal mortality rate is 9 times higher than their white peers.
In the US, Black people are twice as likely to have a preterm birth, birth a low weight baby, or have a child that dies before the age of one.
A 2019 survey that polled pregnant women of all races showed that 22 percent of Black women reported mistreatment by a health care professional during their pregnancies and childbirth. They are twice as likely as their white peers to report being ignored by a health care professional when they reported symptoms or asked for help.
Preeclampsia is 60 percent more common in Black birthing women than in their white counterparts.
Source: Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons With Racism in Medicine by Uche' Blackstock, MD