“Black women die because the system denies our humanity”
Black and Latina women in the US are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To highlight the issue, Missouri legislator Cori Bush gave powerful testimony before congress last week on the topic of Black maternal health.
In a hearing called to investigate how racism in healthcare harms pregnant women, Congresswoman Bush explained how her own children nearly died when her concerns were dismissed during childbirth.
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When she was just five-months pregnant, she saw a sign in her doctor’s office that read, ‘if you feel like something is wrong, something is wrong. Tell your doctor.’
So she did just that, but was told, “Oh no, you’re fine. You’re fine. Go home, and I’ll see you next time.”
Three weeks later, her son Zion was born at only 23 weeks gestation, weighing just over a pound, as Bush recalls: “His ears were still in his head. His eyes were still fused shut. His fingers were smaller than rice, and his skin was translucent. We were told he had a zero percent chance of life.”
Miraculously, Zion is now 21-years-old, and Bush’s doctor has admitted that she had wrongly dismissed her worries.
Sixteen weeks into her second pregnancy, Bush again went into early labor. A different doctor at the hospital felt the baby had no hope and that it was not worth attempting to save, as Bush explains: “I said, ‘No, you have to do something. But he was adamant, and he said, ‘Just go home. Let it abort. You can get pregnant again because that’s what you people do.’”
It’s horrifying even to read.
I testified in front of Congress about nearly losing both of my children during childbirth because doctors didn’t believe my pain.
Republicans got more upset about me using gender-inclusive language in my testimony than my babies nearly dying.
Racism and transphobia in America.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) May 6, 2021
Refusing to accept his answer, Bush’s sister flung a chair down the hallway of the hospital in despair and anger. Nurses ran into her room to investigate. Bush’s doctor was called back in and on further examination, he decided on a cervical cerclage, which is a stitch in the cervix to prevent early delivery.
Bush’s daughter Angel is now 20-years-old.
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“This is what desperation looks like. That chair flying down a hallway. Every day, Black women are subjected to harsh and racist treatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Every day, Black women die because the system denies our humanity.”
Powerful words.
Unfortunately, this is not a crisis that’s reserved for far away places.
Those who watched singer Rochelle Humes’ recent Channel 4 Dispatches documentary The Black Maternity Scandal will know that in the UK, black women are four times more likely to die in pregnancy than white women.
Closer to home again, the Association for Improvements into Maternity Services (AIMS Ireland) says the latest figures around perinatal mortality rates in the African community in Ireland are “disturbing”.
The Irish Examiner discovered Perinatal Mortality Rates (PMRs) are highest where expectant mothers are listed as national African, living in Ireland. The stillbirth rate is 6.3% compared to 3.7% for those listed as national Irish.
The early neonatal mortality rate is more than double that for national Irish mothers, at 3.5% compared to 1.6%. The perinatal mortality rate is nearly double at 9.8%, compared with 5.3%.
When asked by the newspaper what it is doing about the disparities, the HSE said: “Each maternity unit has local arrangements in place to ensure care is provided to minority groups in a culturally sensitive manner and, for example, provision of translation services.”
They went on to say that, while the rates vary and “may appear large”, they are “not remarkable” by international standards.
The plan around addressing the issue seems loose, at best: “There is, of course, a place for targeted measures for a particular group but in the long term, the only policy that is likely to be successful is one that fosters and encourages rapid integration.”
AIMS Ireland chair Dr Krysia Lynch responded: “These PMR figures are alarming, very disturbing and they need urgent and immediate action.”
A well overdue conversation is happening. It’s time we all added our voices.
