Black maternal mortality in US and its slave origins

African American mothers are three times more likely to die from childbirth-related complications than white mothers, in part due to systemic issues dating back to slavery.

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[ddavis]

I went to the emergency room with extreme pain, I was two months pregnant, I was looked at for maybe 5 minutes, sent home with tetracycline. One week later, in even more pain, I went back. Again I was looked at less then 10 minutes and they were going to give another type of penicillin. I can only thank God because something in me thought the baby was in the tube. I didn't leave the emergency room but waited to speak to another doctor, who listened and told me to come back the next morning. I was given an ultrasound and I was right. They rushed me into surgery where they removed the fetus and the tube. They went on to tell me that I'd lost over 2 pints of blood and could have died. I truly thank God because nobody would have ever checked me out properly and I wouldn't be here today

[azizalowe]

I was treated like absolute garbage in both of my deliveries. Nurses treat you and talk to u like you’re incompetent.

[stepahead]

So much gaslighting in the comments. Black women, this is valid and worth the advocacy. We stand independent of those eager to undermine our rightful fights for our lives and those of our children.

[keriXianne]

I heard about slaves women being used to be experiment on in obgyn back in the day. I heard the women experimented on were not given anesthesia during the process.

[neen]

It’s clear by these comments and the likes to dislikes that people aren’t even open to conversation. Disgusting, the lack of empathy. This issue breaks my heart and there’s no reason it should be ignored.

[reeniec]

My God, I experienced bias and mistreatment after the delivery of my son in NY NY. Because I got the flu 2 days before birth and could not take medication, my tongue had thrush and they kept accusing me of being HIV positive even though I never in my life tested positive for such a virus. I was humiliated and treated like garbage after giving birth to my first child. PLEASE- medical students of color, black OBGYNs, please come together in private practice, join with doulas and midwives and help save our communities.

[MGTZreal]

Sounds like it's time to report them to the board, hospital and a medical malpractices lawsuit

[CosplayHeroUnite]

I want a baby so bad, but I’m terrified because of the mortality rate towards African American individuals during this process. I pray for both my baby and myself are safe for when the time come.

[andreadavid]

As someone who holds a clinical doctorate I of course believe in diversity in the medical profession . I want to also bring up the point of a study of cardiologist from a few years ago. The study revealed black doctors also discriminated against black patients. When black patients reported symptoms there was a delay in appropriate intervention when treated by both black and white doctors. The one doctor in this story who urged us all to check our implicit bias was spot on, and this advice is applicable to both black and white medical professionals. Systemic racism has taught us as black people to hate ourselves. What colonialism created was masterful in that centuries later; their goal of white supremacy is still being achieved albeit in the more covert ways. In closing, many people believed hiring more black police officers was the key to police brutality. This is simply untrue, many times those black officers are working in fear as well, and will go along to get along. I’m not alone in this experience as some of the worst interactions I’ve ever had with law enforcement was with 2 black NYPD officers. A change in mentality is key.

[Mary-iomb]

What makes this even more devastating is the fact that these deaths are preventable; and this being America (and not a third world country), Black women deserve the same level of care as their white counterparts.

[blazayblazay]

NEWS FLASH C SECTIONS SHOULD NOT BE ROUTINE

[ceddispaghetti]

OMG this happened to me with my first child. I found out later that my experience was not normal and was negligent. 😢 I pretty much took my health care into my own hands with my second child and educated myself to form a birth plan instead of just trusting the hospital to care for me. They still tried to bully me into a C-section. They tried to guilt trip me that I was putting my baby at risk but I was determined not to let them cut me again. Thank God we made it out okay.

[thisistheaccountname]

An average of 700 women die each year in the US from complications related to pregnancy.
The majority of those women are black women.
From having access to medical care to the type of medical care they recieve can make all the difficult.




This was information from a few years back. I'm not sure if it is still completely valid.

[Kera]

This is what makes me afraid to have children 😢 and why I strongly believe women should have a choice to either have kids or not.

[Jessica-kjyd]

Child birth is so scary. I almost died after giving birth to twins. Thank God dr's listen when I said something is really wrong. I had an epidural complication, sepsis, and post partum preeclampsia. I am about to give birth again and I am afraid I could die from it.

[tannershortnacy]

Cutting a woman damn near in half is never routine

[aimeeandrews]

Exactly the same thing is happening in the UK. 5 time more likely to die.

[shellyknowsall]

I hope more pregnant mama's choose midwives instead ❤ This' so devastating and should never happen to any family no matter the color of their skin. Sending prayers and love to these families God bless them 🙏

[sonya]

This is scary, Im black & want to have kids soon, all I can think is I have to get a black ob/Gyn now.

[lifewiththemurphyfamily]

Black women....get a book and learn about homebirth. My 2mo child died due to medical neglect in 2019. When I found out the cause of death- I made a decision to never return to the hospital unless it's an emergency. My trust in the medical system is broken.