Maternity Care in the United States Remains Separate and Unequal.
To fix it, #ListenToBlackWomen @Shafia_SMC @doccrearperry @jessicaroach01 @AncientSong7 @BlkMamasMatter @SisterSong_WOC @BirthingJustice #BlackMamasMatter #BMHC18 momsrising.org/blog/maternity…
To fix it, #ListenToBlackWomen @Shafia_SMC @doccrearperry @jessicaroach01 @AncientSong7 @BlkMamasMatter @SisterSong_WOC @BirthingJustice #BlackMamasMatter #BMHC18 momsrising.org/blog/maternity…
Congress has introduced 20 different bills this session to address maternal mortality. However, these bills do not sufficiently address a fundament problem: racism, not race, is a key contributor disparities in maternal mortality. 1/
And after almost two decades as a practice obstetrician, I have come to appreciate that as a health care provider, I am complicit: I practice in a system that is designed to deliver unequal care. 2/
This gap reflects the value our society places on reproduction, depending on who is reproducing – a phenomenon known as “stratified reproduction” that impacts people of color regardless of income or education. 3/
As @Shafia_SMC put it in the opening plenary, “We need to reclaim that our black babies are welcome and wanted in this world.” We need that reclaiming because Black mothers are too often disrespected and disbelieved, even when they are privately insured. 4/
As @doccrearperry noted, our system of unequal care reflects the roots of ObGyn in centuries of mistreatment of Black women. Only by understanding these racist legacies can we take steps to redress wrongs and dismantle the bias within our unequal health care system. 5/
As @deray argues, if the system is perfectly designed for the results it achieves, “… it was designed...people made this up, and because people made it up, we can make something different." 6/
Let’s commit to something different. We can begin by celebrating the strength of Black families with events like @BlkBfingWeek #LiftEveryBaby 7/
We can support organizations like the @BlkMamasMatter, @SisterSong and @BirthingJustice to lift up the voices of Black women leaders in state quality collaboratives, community advisory boards and quality improvement initiatives. 8/
We can enact the Black Mamas Matter Standard for Holistic Care of and for Black Women, with approaches that support families with a collaborative team of community health workers, doulas, midwives, family and clinicians. 9/ blackmamasmatter.org/wp-content/upl…
And we can raise the bar. As @doccrearperry said, “What would it look like for women to not only survive pregnancy, but to thrive?” 10/
