MODULE 3 - WHY ARE BLACK WOMEN DYING
The Current Crisis
It’s common knowledge right now that…
black women are dying at 3-4 times higher rates than white women in pregnancy and child birth. There are COUNTLESS articles on the subject. The interesting thing is that we can’t seem to pinpoint an exact reason.
Maybe it's because we project so much strength that the birth workers are incapable of taking our pains seriously?
Maybe it's because we are lacking efficient healthcare?
Maybe it's because of overt systemic racism affecting the hospitals we deliver at?
Maybe it's caused by stress developed over the years of dealing with actual racism?
Maybe we are genetically pre-disposed to having pregnancy and birth related complications?
Maybe, like in the 90’s, this is the government’s way of “population control” amongst blacks.
Honestly, with the current racial climate in the United States, that has never been fully addressed or eradicated and is currently boldly invading this country’s leadership, I wouldn’t rule out that last “maybe”...but that’s just my opinion. It really is up in the air and can be any one thing or a combination of them all that is killing us.
Whatever the actual reason, there needs to be something done to stop that statistic from rising. Our children’s lives and our own depend on it.
That is why I’m a HUGE believer that representation matters.
The more of us who choose to share our birth stories means that more of us can benefit from the experience of others.
Everywhere we look, we see white and white-presenting women giving birth in all kinds of places and LIVING.
The challenge is getting us to even think about and consider hiring a birth photographer so that women who look like me see and know that there are other options out there for us in the birth world. The key to saving lives is knowledge. So many of us are simply ignorant to the options and when we do see them, we don’t see us utilizing them (like doulas, midwives, and out of hospital birth options).
People like you can be a part of the change, but I’ll tell you more about that later...right now there’s a few more things that need to be addressed.
Why the term #BLACKBIRTHMATTERS exists
Seeing that hashtag has a tendency to evoke one of two emotions; outrage or understanding.
The outrage happens when people are too closed-minded to think outside of their immediate lived experiences. Those same people are often the same ones who claim it's racist to say and refuse to even consider understanding the why and are quick to scream #ALLBIRTHMATTERS in retaliation.
The why. It has nothing to do with being racist, but it has everything to do with inclusion and saving lives. The crisis on black maternal health is real. Our lives matter. Our births matter. And until we stop falling victim to systemic racism and implicit bias at the hand of our care providers, that statistic isn't likely to fall. Black births matters is not an attempt to diminish the importance of the birth experiences of other races, but rather its to bring awareness that our matter too.