In midst of a global pandemic the infamous legacies associated with slavery continue to become illuminated in our society. The origin of these prevalent patterns of health disparities stems from the commodification of enslaved black women’s childbearing and the prioritization of slave owners interests by physicians. Gynecology and obstetrics are the two dominant specializations that owe a “debt” to black women’s bodies due to the significant amount of dehumanization that occurs.
The current demonstration of structural racism continues to contribute to the severely disproportionate maternal mortality among Black Americans. Highly affluent women such as Beyonce, Serena Williams and Allyson Felix have fallen victim to this structural racism contrary to their influential statuses in society. After hearing the horrifying experience these women endured during childbirth and life during maternity, illuminated the lack of protection black women have, regardless of status. Black women are significantly known to be subject to facing barriers in regards to obtaining quality healthcare due to racial discrimination they face throughout their lifespan.
Societal and systemic racism practices that have been constructed within the health system contribute to the maternal mortality rates for black women but also contribute to poor health outcomes in the black community as a whole. From reinforcing the historical identity by acknowledging the persistent bias’ present in medicine by promoting socially unconscious health disparities to confronting the explicit institutional racism, this work will explore the diagnosis of this apparent perpetual cycle generations that endured with the desire to ensure that the future generations of black women will be protected from this psychological yet societal dissension.
The institutionalized racism dates back to the late 1600s as southern legislatures prioritized childbearing among black women to a point where a law was passed that determined the status of any offspring produced based on the mother’s status. This principle was known as partus sequitur vetrum, a practice that deemed chattel slavery to be inheritable to Africans and the descendants of them, however this principle not only established the legalization of the enslavement of descendents, but this act ensured that white and black women were racially distinct and separated, even in the medical spectrum. One of the most prevalent distinctions came into fruition when white women’s childbearing was considered an opportunity to build patriarchal pedigrees while laws not only enforced black women to bear children, but considered childbearing to be a means of reaching tremendous amounts of capital gain.
This instance emphasized the narrative of how many individuals focus on the language of healing compared to the very apparent reality that is demonstrated, the reality of believing that all doctors are committed to healing what is an “ailment” to all individuals. Unfortunately, this narrative has been proven to be destructive to the black community as studies have been performed, proving that black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth compared to white women, while also being the highest demographic for being uninsured and lacking access to prenatal care and subsequently being patients to preventable diseases along with chronic health conditions. Beyond life, black bodies were used as experiments and displayed in all white museums and medical schools in an attempt to medicalize the blackness of an individual or signifying drastic medical differences compared to white individuals.
In society, black women should be granted the right to safety and equality. The desire to improve these health outcomes, systemic change need to be enforced within the healthcare system in regards to the access to persistent and consistent health care resources as well as making spaces that allow black women to live happier and healthier lives, while supporting the rights and decisions that are made throughout their lifespans, specifically having the right to become a parent. Moving forward, medical training programs as well as corporate workspaces should incorporate training in regards to racial sensitivity as well as the effects of microaggressions in regards to medical diagnosis.
This curriculum should be facilitated by specialized experts and aim to increase the awareness of an individual’s own biases. From the dialogue to workshops, these exercises should promote mutual understanding of the disparities of racism. Medical institutions should also create resources that allow individuals to recognize microaggressions, specifically those that occur in healthcare spaces. Congress and local policymakers should consider the creation of a legislature that is centered around microaggressions in order to protect individuals from experiencing microaggressions just like legislature that has been created in response to sexual assault and race relations.
Finally, journalists also have the ability to rewrite the narrative by creating more headlines and programs centered around microaggressions in regards to health care. With the willingness to change the current climate surrounding maternal mortality rates, race related health complications and the overall discrimination of black and brown bodies within healthcare settings, change can occur with the willingness of the majority to move forward and produce a bountiful future of society by redirecting racial biases, prejudice and dismantling centuries old narratives that is evidence to happen by advocating for black women to bear children without the fear of their child’s first breath, being the mother’s last.