The Black Woman's Birthing Experience

Instead of going into labor with fear, it’s important to be well informed and supported by not only friends and family but the selected healthcare provider. This would be an essential step to SURVIVAL 

Black women develop preeclampsia at a rate that is 60 percent higher than that of white women, and preeclampsia is not as serve in white women as it is in black women.

Improved birthing practices can be seen in the up rise of black doulas. In the midst of birthing crisis doulas have become visible agents of birthing justice. They have not only contributed to positively influencing the perinatal experience but also improved the health of mother and baby. Serving as a bodyguard, allowing the patient to use them as a tool of crisis mitigation. With the use of solidarity black women doulas expose and remedies obstetric violence. (Nash, C. 2002: 5) In many ways black women doulas not only assist in the success of in the black women’s birthing experience but they help bring the black women’s suffering to the forefront of political discussions.    

In attempts to further understand the black birthing experience researchers have decided to go straight to the source, the black woman. Recommendations for improvement in patient-provider interactions included spending time and building connection with patients, providing individualized women centered care and being open to a true partnership in decision making. (Altman, McLemore, Oseguera, Lydon, Franck 2020:471.) Improvement can also be implemented at a structural level. Overt judgement and discrimination is also found within the structure training for health care providers. Removing biased language from textbooks and providing the availability to have more black health care providers, will assist with increasing the trust and respect for black women. (Atlman et al 2020:471)  

Rosenburg (2002) and colleagues saw that the mother’s life experience perception played a key factor in stress levels. In comparing American black births to foreign black births, foreign mother’s often see their life in America as a once in a lifetime opportunity. They do not succumb to the weight of race in America as the American black mothers. Racial microaggression was also a common thread once socioeconomic status and obstetric history was controlled.  Black mothers, no matter the socioeconomic status or level of healthcare availability have been impacted by racial microaggression and or sometimes racial discrimination.

“A woman in birth is at once her most powerful, and most vulnerable. But any woman who has birthed unhindered understands that we are stronger than we know.” – Marcie Macar

Baby’s Bounty is a Non-Profit Organization that assist Mother’s in need 

When the rhythmic breath meets the intensity of unforeseen birthing complications 

This is Sha-Asia Washington and to the right is her beautiful daughter Khloe Sha-Asia Washington. Its sad to say that the closest this baby girl will ever get to her mother is the sharing of her mothers name. At the young age of 26 years old pregnant with her first child, Sha-Asia went to hospital for high blood pressure only for them to keep her for 2 days without any medicine. She later died while having a c-section. Never got the chance to meet her beautiful daughter Khloe.

Unfortunately Amber was never able to tell her own story.  

Due to the negligence and incompetence of doctors the falling of Amber’s platelet levels went overlooked. Causing her to bleed out immediately after delivering my baby boy. During her pregnancy Amber was very verbal about her concerns to physicians, but those screams for help fell on deaths ear. 

Under 40% of premature births are African-American, but African-American premature babies contribute to 70% of babies who die within first year of life. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-black-mother-after-birth-first-child-highlights-racial-disparities-n1246841

How can one celebrate life while morn another?