By: Lavender Moon
In the United States, Black infants have significantly worse
birth outcomes than do White infants. The cause of these persisting racial
disparities remains unexplained. Most extant studies focus on differential
exposures to protective and risk factors during pregnancy, such as current socioeconomic status, maternal
risky behaviors, prenatal care, psychosocial stress, or perinatal infections.
These risk factors during pregnancy, however, do not adequately account for the
disparities. Future research on racial disparities in birth outcomes
needs to examine differential exposures to risk and protective factors not only
during pregnancy, but over the life course of women. Eliminating disparities
requires interventions and policy development that are more longitudinally and
contextually integrated than currently prevail.
In my birth work, I have assisted more than 90 women giving
birth; and have touched the lives of more than 300 women on their childbirth
journey.
As a woman and mother of color who is also a birth worker in
an inner city, I am convinced there are more women of color who struggle to
find continuity of care with a care provider they can relate to, learn from,
and be empowered by. Over the last 7 years as a Birth and Postpartum Doula; I
have worked in community doula programs throughout Chicago in some of the
poorest areas within Chicago city limits AND I’ve worked with mothers in the
Gold Coast, Lakeview, Evanston, and Lincoln Park areas of Chicago. The
differences of level of care and opportunities presenting for better birthing
is so vastly different between the two. If I gave you case studies on families
from each area in Chicago the revelation of differences is evident.
Typically, what I’ve experienced in my personal life is
this: while pregnant with my second baby in 2008, I was labeled ‘high-risk’
before I got started with a urine test or any blood work. The Obstetrician I
was seeing told me I was ‘high risk,’ She was an Obstetrician in a private
practice group and once she saw my face, called me ‘high risk’ without ever
screening me to rule out or rule in why or how I was high risk. When I asked
and questioned, she threatened in a passive aggressive way a referral to her
in-office psychologist. (Clearly, something was wrong with me for asking
questions about my new found ‘high risk’ status).
