Why are Black Women still fighting against racism in the healthcare industry? Mortality and morbidity rates amongst Black women have been a huge concern in the Black Community for decades. This concern stems from the lack of care, empathy, and support from healthcare professionals in hospital and clinical settings. This “lack of care” is a result of systemic racism and discrimination that Black women endured during infant delivery. As a result, more than Melanated women turn to at-home births surrounded by midwives for support, love, and care.
Systemic racism toward Black women during childbirth has become a major issue in U.S society. Over 60,000 Black women have experienced morbidity during or after childbirth annually due to ethnic discrimination. Many women report feeling unheard, judged, and misunderstood due to their race. A black woman, Amber, died after childbirth due to severely low platelets during her pregnancy. She was at high risk of thrombocytopenia, but a healthcare professional refused to prescribe her the right treatment. This is not only due to race, but also to differences in culture and identity.
Since the 17th century, melanated women, enslaved and free, were the blueprint for midwifery in the United States. Midwifery was first introduced by enslaved women in 1619 in the Deep South. The use of herbs, spiritual healing, and cultural love made childbirth sustainable in the Black community. Particularly in community and culture, the love, connection, and sharing of hardship within the black community allowed women to feel safe when giving birth.
The sharing of sacred knowledge, cultural roots and history, and pain in black culture will always be the key to highly successful maternal birth rates globally.
Sources:
PubMed Central; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5915910/#R6
YouTube Video – “How Midwifery Racially Evolved”
https://youtu.be/7Dg70dEnxO4?is=iNK6Nd0-sH9Y2Wy-
YouTube Video – “Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers”
Visionary Action 
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