Commentary: Racism in health care likely contributes to the mistreatment of conditions, which leads to poor maternal health outcomes among Black women.
A doctor uses a hand-held Doppler probe on a pregnant woman to measure the heartbeat of her fetus on Dec. 17, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi. COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report released Oct. 19, 2022.
As a Black woman older than 40 and as a health disparities researcher, I knew that I met several of the risk factors for maternal morbidity and mortality. Instead of going home and calling the 800 number to speak to a nurse on call as the receptionist suggested, I called a friend, colleague and OB-GYN professor who insisted that I go to the emergency room immediately.By the time I was admitted to the ER, my blood pressure was 182/110 — indicative of a severe hypertensive crisis.
Racism in health care likely contributes to the misidentification of symptoms, mistreatment of conditions and inadequate access to high-quality health care resources that, combined, lead to poor maternal health outcomes among Black women. Despite the rarity of preeclampsia, the majority of Black women in my social network who have been pregnant have had it — and two of them, unfortunately, lost their babies as a result of the condition.
The following Friday, I delivered my daughter by cesarean section at 2 pounds, 4 ounces. In the hours leading up to my delivery, a Black female physician from maternal fetal medicine sat by my bedside to explain what was happening and to offer comfort. When I was wheeled into the operating room, another Black female physician put her arm on my shoulder and said, “I got you.”
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