Black and Asian women are being harmed by racial discrimination in maternity care, according to an inquiry.
The year-long investigation into “racial injustice” was conducted by the charity Birthrights.
Women reported feeling unsafe, being denied pain relief, facing racial stereotyping about their pain tolerance, and microaggressions.
The government has set up a taskforce to tackle racial disparities in maternity care.
Hiral Varsani says she was traumatised by her treatment during the birth of her first child.
The 31-year-old from north London developed sepsis – a potentially life-threatening reaction to an infection – after her labour was induced, which she says was only spotted after a long delay.
“It was almost 24 hours later before a doctor took my bloods for the first time and realised I was seriously ill.”
Hiral had an emergency C-section and her daughter was taken into intensive care after also contracting sepsis.
She believes her race played a role in her care: “I experienced microaggressions and was stereotyped because of the colour of my skin.
“The staff would say ‘hello princess’, and while I was having contractions in a corridor a midwife walked past and said, ‘Oh, you’re definitely going to need an epidural’. I had never even met her before.
“I was repeatedly ignored, they just thought I was a weak little Indian girl, who was unable to take pain.”
‘Bleed to death’
While death in pregnancy or childbirth is very rare in the UK, there are stark racial disparities in maternal mortality rates.
Black women are more than four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women in the UK, while women from Asian backgrounds face almost twice the risk.
Tinu Alikor was terrified she would become one of those statistics when she gave birth to her daughter 14 months ago.
If you’re going to talk about the intersection of abortion and race, it’s probably a good thing to start with the 14th amendment, says Melissa Murray, a legal scholar and law professor at New York University.
It is, after all, the 14th amendment that the Supreme Court interpreted to give women bodily autonomy — the privacy and liberty to make decisions about their own bodies.
But the 14th amendment wasn’t in the “original” draft of the U.S. Constitution.
“It was part of this trio of three amendments that were intended to completely reorder the American landscape in the wake of the civil war, and specifically to introduce newly freed African Americans into the body politic,” says Murray.
The amendments were part of an attempt at reconstruction, a repudiation of what had come before, an attempt to move forward on the American promise.
“So if the 13th amendment formerly abolishes slavery and the 15th amendment gave African American men the opportunity to be heard in the body politic through the ballot, the 14th amendment was about imbuing these newly freed persons with the basic rights that whites had come to expect, and that had been systemically denied enslaved people,” Murray says.
That includes the right to family integrity — to not have your children or your spouse stolen or sold away from you, the right to raise your children, to marry whom you want.
“And of course the right to your own body,” Murray says.
With the undoing of slavery there was an attempt to expand and sew freedom into the constitution that would later form the basis for so many civil rights, including abortion, Murray says.
She notes, “We’ve lost that thread.”
A perfect storm for pregnancy
Michelle Colon calls herself an abortion freedom-fighter. As an activist on the ground in Mississippi, she’s always understood abortion access as a racial justice issue.
Tesla Inc. said a California agency informed the electric automaker that it has grounds for a civil complaint, following an investigation into racial harassment.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing issued a so-called notice of cause finding and mandatory dispute resolution to Tesla on Jan. 3, the company said Monday in a regulatory filing. The investigation involved “undisclosed allegations of race discrimination and harassment at unspecified Tesla locations.”
Tesla has faced numerous complaints and lawsuits from former workers at its auto plant in Fremont, California, about racial discrimination and sexual harassment in recent years. Many complaints never make it to court because Tesla’s full-time employees sign agreements requiring workplace disputes to be handled in closed-door arbitration.
In October, one former worker was awarded $137 million by a federal jury in San Francisco — the largest such verdict of its kind. Tesla is now appealing the size of the award.
“It’s a very positive development that the DFEH has made this finding and is willing to pursue a civil case if they can’t reach a resolution with Tesla,” said Larry Organ, a Bay Area civil rights attorney who represents several former Black employees and contract workers.
Tesla’s acting general counsel didn’t respond to a request for comment. The California fair-employment agency also didn’t respond.
The California DFEH filed a lawsuit against video game developer Activision Blizzard Inc. in July for promoting a culture of “constant sexual harassment.” The department also reached a settlement with Riot Games over sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
Since 2014, workers have filed over 100 complaints with the DFEH alleging discrimination at Tesla on the basis of race, age, gender, disability, medical leave, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or national origin, according to a synopsis provided by the agency after a California Public Records Act request.
Source: claimsjournal.com
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Tatyana Ali, who starred as Ashley Banks on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from 1990 to 1996, entered Harvard the next year where she double majored in government and African-American studies. In 2016, Ali and her husband, an English professor at Stanford, welcomed their first child, but only after mother and baby were roughly treated by a hospital’s obstetrics team, she testified Thursday to the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee.
“One doctor climbed up onto the side of the bed and pushed his forearm into my belly and squeezed downward — like my baby was toothpaste,” she said. “Then when my husband and I yelled no to the forceps, they used suction: a plunger. I screamed, ‘Stop!’ because they were aggressively popping it off of his head again and again, four times.” Soon after that, Ali said, she lost consciousness.
Ali’s story — the least horrible one told during the committee’s “Birthing While Black” hearing — illustrates what statistics have long shown: that in the U.S., neither a Black woman’s money, education or status serves as protection from mistreatment in labor and delivery. Financially secure Black women with Ivy League degrees have to worry just like those with less money and education if doctors or nurses will do (or not do) something that costs them their lives or their babies’ lives.
As obstetrician Veronica Gillispie-Bell, the head of women’s services at Ochsner Medical Center in Kenner, testified Thursday, “A Black woman with a college degree is twice as likely to experience a severe maternal morbidity when compared to a white woman with less than a high school diploma.” In New Orleans, that finding holds true even for Black women with graduate degrees.
Read the complete article at: Florida Phoenix
Also Read: Heartbreaking stories of Black maternal deaths, pregnancy complications, racism related at hearing
birth stories birth stories
Heartbreaking stories of Black maternal deaths, pregnancy complications, racism related at hearing
When U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri was pregnant with her first child, Zion, she saw a sign in her doctor’s office encouraging her to speak up about anything unusual she was feeling.
She did so, telling her physician that she was having severe pains, but her concerns were swiftly dismissed. The doctor told Bush, who is African American, that she was fine and sent her home — and one week later, Bush went into early labor.
“At 23 weeks, my son was born, one pound, three ounces,” Bush told a congressional hearing Thursday on Black maternal mortality. “His ears were still in his head. His eyes were still fused shut. His fingers were smaller than rice, and his skin was translucent, a Black baby, translucent.”
Bush recalled that the doctor who delivered her son apologized for not listening to her.
But when she was pregnant with her second child, she faced the same situation. She again went into early labor, and a different doctor refused to help her, telling Bush in a clear reference to her race: “You can get pregnant again, because that’s what you people do.”
Her story is far from unusual.
Mothers, spouses and loved ones of Black people who have died as a result of childbirth complications described their experiences to the House Oversight and Reform Committee in heartbreaking detail.
Black birthing people are three times more likely to experience pregnancy-related death when compared to their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also experience higher rates of pregnancy complications, infant loss, and miscarriage.
Affluent Black Americans also are disproportionately affected: a Black person with a college degree is twice as likely to experience a severe physical or mental complication from childbirth than a white woman without a high school degree, said Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, medical director for the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative.
Read the complete article at: Florida Phoenix
Also Read: HOW MEDICAL RACISM ROBS BLACK FAMILIES OF JOYOUS BIRTH EXPERIENCES
Childbirth is often thought to be the most magical experience one can have. But for Black women, the road to motherhood can often be paved with horror due to the racism they face in the medical field.
Shayla Akande gave birth to a baby girl on January 24, 2021. Although her story ends with a happy and healthy baby, the birthing process wasn’t the smooth transition she had been hoping for.
In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Many researchers believe the deep, structural racism embedded in so many aspects of Black women’s lives, as well as in the medical care they receive, is the most significant factor. Conscious of these statistics, Akande worked to create an environment that recognized her Blackness and supported her in every way.
“I chose to do a waterbirth; based on everything that’s going on with Black women in the maternal community, it just seemed like the safest thing,” Akande said. “I wanted a calm environment to birth in. I’ve also heard a lot of benefits about giving birth in the water.”
Akande and her husband chose a local birthing center, Seattle Home Maternity, in Columbia City. Akande sought out both a midwife and a doula for her daughter’s birth. She wanted to be able to get to know the people who would be delivering her baby. The saving grace of her experience would be her doula, who she found through The Perfect Push.
At 4 a.m., Akande’s water broke. By 8:30 a.m., she was at the birthing center. Everything was going smoothly for both Akande and her baby until she began to deliver.
“It was a shift in energy in the room,” Akande said. “It went from, ‘Hey, baby’s coming, baby’s coming,’ to the breath being taken out of the room.”
Read the complete article at: South Seattle Emerald
Also Read: The Stress Of Systemic Racism Is Killing Black Mothers And Babies
The COVID-19 pandemic affects us all, but it has taken an especially severe toll on Black and Hispanic state residents, magnifying inequities that have long produced worse health outcomes for people of color.
This reality has led to many policy proposals to address health inequities, as well as conversations that center on the role of racism in producing disparate health outcomes. In response, some have asked why focus on race or racism, rather than other factors, such as income, education, or geography.
As the leader of a foundation focused on health equity, I hear these questions often, and I would like to offer some answers.
First, why focus on race?
It’s important to understand that even controlling for income, education, and other factors, people of color face worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. For example, a Black woman with a college degree or higher is 1.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than a white woman without a high school diploma. While other factors, such as income, play a role in health, we will not achieve equitable outcomes if we do not address race.
People often assume there could be genetic differences behind these disparities. While genetics contribute to some conditions, such as sickle cell anemia, there is no genetic explanation for the racial and ethnic disparities we see in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, infant mortality, and adverse maternal outcomes.
So what causes worse health outcomes for people of color?
There are several explanations, both within the health care system and outside of it.
Research shows that Black and Hispanic patients receive less aggressive treatment than white patients. One study found that Hispanic patients were half as likely to be given pain medication in the emergency room when they had a broken bone. Another study of pediatric patients with appendicitis found that Black children and teens were significantly less likely to be given opioids to treat pain.
Read the complete article at: CT Mirror
Also Read: Health Care Conference Addresses the Legacy of Racism in Black Health
For Black women who are expecting a baby, pregnancy can be filled with the anxiety of knowing you will have to navigate a health care system plagued by racism. That racism affects the quality of medical care Black women and infants receive.
According to the most recent data from the California Department of Public Health, Black infants in California are three times more likely to die and 60% more likely to be born prematurely than white infants. Black mothers are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy or delivery complications than white mothers.
Darynee Blount is a certified professional midwife who owns Birth Roots Women’s Health and Maternity Center. They recently partnered with Project Concern International’s Healthy Start program to address the disparities pregnant Black women face. It was her own traumatic birthing experience that led her to do this work.
After becoming a midwife, Blount said that when she attended the births of Black women she noticed similar things to what she experienced while giving birth.
Read the complete article at: KPBS
For Black women who are expecting a baby, pregnancy can be filled with the anxiety of knowing you will have to navigate a health care system plagued by racism. That racism affects the quality of medical care Black women and infants receive. According to the most recent data from the California Department of Public Health, Black infants in California are three times more likely to die and 60% more likely to be born prematurely than white infants. Black mothers are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy or delivery complications than white mothers. Darynee Blount is a certified professional midwife who owns Birth Roots Women’s Health and Maternity Center. They recently partnered with Project Concern International’s Healthy Start program to address the disparities pregnant Black women face. It was her own traumatic birthing experience that led her to do this work. Health Outcomes Health Outcomes Health Outcomes
Among the myriad issues highlighted in 2020 was America’s profound inequities in medical care. Last year’s focus was, of course, largely on the coronavirus, but the disparities permeate all realms of wellness – including pregnancy and newborn care.
In L.A. County, Black mothers are four times more likely than other women to die of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, and Black infants are three times more likely than white or Asian infants to die before they turn one. Organizations such as Kindred Space LA, a birthing center in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles, aim to chip away at those disparities.
Owned and operated by midwives Kimberly Durdin and Allegra Hill, the space opened last year with the goal of providing comprehensive, holistic care for Black families.
“We have literally pledged our lives, at this moment, to be a part of the solution,” said Durdin.
Read the complete article at: LA ist
Salesperson asked ‘can I get you pregnant?’ wins sex discrimination claim
A salesperson at a courier firm who was subjected to ‘demeaning’ and explicit sexual comments has won her claim for sex discrimination, harassment and constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal.
Ms S Stannard, who worked at Overseas Courier Service (London), was given nicknames including “legs” and “stretch” by other employees, and at one point was asked by a colleague: “can I get you pregnant?”.
The claimant said a “sexist” culture existed at the male-dominated transport company, which was reflected in the comments often directed at her and other women. She told the tribunal: “It was just the norm, ‘double entendre’ were a regular feature of conversations with sexualised comments being made again and again.”
When she was pregnant in 2013, colleagues made comments about the size of her breasts, including claims that she was “busting out of [her] shirt” and had “sexy curves”.
When she informed the company directors of her pregnancy, one allegedly joked that she should take back her comment so that he could make her redundant.
One colleague said that he and the claimant could “tone up together in bed” and made several other explicit comments. The claimant said the colleague became impossible to deal with and hard to manage when he realised there would not be a relationship with her, and she lodged a grievance about his behaviour. The colleague later resigned.
In 2017, Stannard suffered a slipped disc and was off work for three weeks. Upon returning, she needed to attend physiotherapy sessions during her work hours.
Her work came under scrutiny at this point, with the company directors claiming that she needed to work additional hours to make up the physiotherapy time and work in the office on Fridays, rather than at home as she had been doing to several years.
She said that after her injury there was a “step change” in the way she was treated at the firm.
Read the complete article at: Personnel Today
Also Read: Half of Black and mixed-race employees ‘have experienced workplace discrimination’