When you hear about someone who has died due to complications of childbirth it may seem as though it is a rare occurrence – happening significantly less often than it once did in the past. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Black women in the U.S. One woman’s story that I will share via NPR News is the one of Shalon Irving. Shalon Irving was an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She was studying how structural inequality, trauma, and violence could make people sick. Three weeks after giving birth to her baby, Shalon became part of her own studies when she died due to complications after birth related to high blood pressure.
There is a significant racial disparity in the deaths related to pregnancy and/or childbirth. The CDC reports that Black mothers die at 3 to 4 times the rate of white women (CDC 2011-2013). In other words, Black mothers are 243% more likely to die from childbirth than white mothers (CDC 2011-2013). The racial disparity is not limited to childbirth, however. Black women are 22% more likely to die from heart disease and 71% more likely to die from cervical cancer (CDC 2011-2013). Shalon is among hundreds of Black women with horror stories related to health care. So why is this the case?
Firstly, we need to recognize the United States’ long history of racism and the lasting racism that is prevalent today. Racism often comes in the form of microaggressions and stereotypes in the medical field. One stereotype that is prevalent in the medical field is that Black people have “thicker skin” and “less sensitive nerve endings”. Over 50% of medical trainees believe this. This stereotype is likely born from indoctrinating racism/prejudices. Unfortunately, this stereotype leads to discriminatory behaviors such as rating Black people as feeling less pain than they report or deciding that Black mothers’ concerns while in labor are less important than the concerns of white mothers.
I believe the best way to intervene in this situation would be to implement interpersonal conflict management (Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M., 2017). Specifically addressing the “concern for others” dimension. If we use the integrating style of conflict management (problem-solving through the exchange of information), we can educate health care personnel on the stereotypes and biases that affect the care that Black people receive in hospitals and clinics in an attempt to lower the rates of Black people receiving poor care due to internal bias. We can further strengthen this intervention by including the obliging style of conflict management (making adjustments to satisfy others), which would give health care personnel the incentive to place a higher concern for the patient and their needs. Using this style of conflict management would challenge health care workers to reflect on racial differences and focus on patient complaints rather than falling victim to stereotypes.
References:
– Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied social psychology, 3rd Edition: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles: SAGE.
– Martin, Nina. Propublica. (2017, December 7). Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving’s Story Explains Why. NPR News. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why
– Sabin, Janice A. (2020, January 6). How We Fail Black Patients in Pain. Association of American Medical Colleges. Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain
There is so much discrimination in the healthcare system, and can see why Balck women die 3 to 4 times more than white women. Putting it as a 243% increase really puts everything into perspective. There is such an increase of many diseases in Black women that aren’t talked about. The lack of healthcare for Black women is something that goes unnoticed. Black women are often seen as faking, or that their pain isn’t as bad as a White woman going through the same. It has become such an issue that the Black community has a massive distrust in the healthcare system (Armstrong et al. 2007). It has become such a problem that the Black community doesn’t get tested for high blood pressure unless needed. There is a 40% increase of high blood pressure in the Black community that is not being looked at. It even develops earlier in life and should be more regulated because of this (American Heart Association, 2016). I can’t fathom why anyone in the healthcare system would think some people have thicker skin. Especially medical trainees who has to go through many years of schooling. The fact that it is thought any race has different pain tolerance is unfathomable to me. I believe your implementation of interpersonal social management is a good start. People need to care about others, even if they don’t understand what they go through. It seems so many people care about what affects them personally and not how it can affect others. It could help this separation between racial biases and help many people who have strayed away from getting help. I agree that intervention using conflict management could help the healthcare system to create more empathy in workers.
Armstrong, K., Ravenell, K. L., McMurphy, S., & Putt, M. (2007). Racial/ethnic differences in physician distrust in the United States. American journal of public health, 97(7), 1283–1289. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2005.080762
American Heart Association. (2016, October 31). High Blood Pressure and African Americans. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/why-high-blood-pressure-is-a-silent-killer/high-blood-pressure-and-african-americans
Black mothers are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than white women (Evans, Marissa., 2019). The pain of black women has been delegitimized for generations. Women of color are overlooked or not heard when they mention to the health care provider that they are experiencing symptoms that optionally harm themselves and their baby. How harsh, is this matter and sick if you think about it. Despite of the patient’s color, if someone is stating they are experiencing painful symptoms, care should be provided immediately.
On a personal, levels I can relate to this matter. Although I am not black, I am Hispanic and still considered a minatory. Yet I have also experienced racism in varies streams. When I was pregnant, I did not feel good one day. Therefore, I rushed to the emergency department, explaining that I did not feel good. I was told that since I was far along my pregnancy, that I was just having contractions. I thought to myself, no that is not it, I cannot explain what is going on but I know I do not feel good. I was rushed to the birthing center immediately, when they checked the babies heart beat it was decreasing. There, I was waken up, too a still birth child. I thought about suing the hospital, since when I voiced my concerns, I was just told that it is normal “I was just going through contractions”. Maybe, if I was not a women or color would my concerns have mattered then? We can only think about the hardship we face as people of color. I found this post very interesting and on a personal level related. It saddens my heart to think of this matter. However, this is the reality of the world we live in today. I am determined that throughout time health care providers, physicians and any social service related career is given the proper training and educated on racial tensions. In order to limit the amount of tragic experiences people of color experience. We all deserve an equal opportunity.
References
MARISSA EVANS; STAFF WRITER. (August 30, 2019 Friday). Disparities in maternal deaths ‘staggering’. Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5WY0-RWY1-DYRH-90MH-00000-00&context=1516831.