There is a maternal mortality crisis in America. In fact, The United States Of America is the only industrialized nation where the maternal mortality rate is getting worse. Between 2018-2021 the crises grew over 89%. To make matters worse, black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. To bring awareness to the issue Black Maternal Health Week is held every year between April 11-17th. If you blink, you'll miss it entirely. Because a week is not nearly enough time to make effective change in a health care system riddled with bias and racism. Black Maternal Health Week is a great start to tipping the scale on a society teetering on the brink of fundamentally failing its mothers and mothers to be, but the conversation must extend far beyond 7 days to be profoundly effective.
The theme for 2023's Black Maternal Health Week was "Our Bodies Are Our Own: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy." The focus was and always will be helping black women reclaim autonomy over their own bodies and finding the joy of pregnancy. This is profound and should be a message pushed through the airways every single day of every single year, not a mere blimp in time, not simply a drop in the ocean that barely ripples for 7 days. Black Women deserve to feel joy and have autonomy over their bodies every single day, 365 days a year. It's a message we should be reminded of in the movies & TV shows we watch, in the commercials that stream on our devices, in the stories told to us day in and day out. Black Joy is the gift of life, not a bag of candy handed out during the holidays as party favors.
We've had enough of black trauma in our lifetimes dating all the way back to slavery. We are constantly bombarded with images of Blacks suffering through our history books, our entertainment. In turn, bias and racism permeate through every facet of our society, especially our healthcare system. Black women are less likely to receive pain management and other interventions during childbirth, and are more likely to be ignored or dismissed when reporting symptoms or concerns. Historical and systemic factors in America have created a legacy of unequal treatment towards Black patients. This lack of cultural competency happens to even affluent blacks with good access to healthcare when they go into labor. Healthcare providers simply lack quality care & understanding of Black Women.
Addressing this crisis will require more than a week of bringing attention to the issue. It will require a comprehensive approach that includes addressing racial bias and discrimination within the healthcare system, improving access to healthcare and economic opportunities for Black women, and increasing cultural competence among healthcare providers. Addressing this issue will require a multifaceted approach that increases cultural competency among healthcare providers, and ensures that Black women have the same access to high quality prenatal care and postpartum support. Healthcare should be a safe haven for everyone of all colors.
Because a week of tweets and social media posts won't bring meaningful change. Because even when controlling for socioeconomic factors, studies have shown that Black women with higher levels of education and income still experience higher rates of maternal mortality compared to white women. Because there are factors at play beyond just socioeconomic status that many black women feel they simply can’t prepare for. Because the chronic stress of living in a society still affected by structural racism and discrimination means Black women have to constantly be concerned about whether or not they will die at the hands of a healthcare provider who failed them while giving birth. We can do better, America. We have to do better.
