Research on Racism and Maternal Health
In the days following George Floyd’s murder, I had the honor of connecting with Ihotu Ali, MPH, LMT, CLC, an EBB Professional Member and the co-founder of the Minnesota Healing Justice Network, about their work on the front lines in Minneapolis. Ihotu and other members of the Minnesota Healing Justice Network, including Daniela Montoya-Barthelemy, MPH; Shayla Walker; Rhonda Fellow, CD (DONA), EBB Instructor; and Jennifer Almanza, DNP, APRN, CNM, made the following suggestion:
EBB should work to make the research evidence on racism and maternal health more readily accessible to our audience.
We greatly appreciate the suggestion from the members of the Minnesota Healing Justice Network. Moving forward you can expect EBB to regularly share especially poignant research findings about Black maternal health, especially because Ihotu Ali is now a Research Editor on Team EBB! She has helped contribute to our new 1 page handout debunking the racist origins of pelvic shapes (linked below) as well as create an upcoming Signature Article on Anti-Racism in Healthcare.
Please remember that *RACISM* and white supremacy are the cause of any racial disparities. And remember that there ARE known solutions… Black midwives, Black doulas, and Black nurses hold the key!! Black midwives such as Jennie Joseph and Uzazi Village and Mamatoto Village and Jamaa Birth Village, and San Antonio Nurse Midwife, among so many others, are living proof that we can eliminate and reduce disparities under their leadership. Read and share the research, but recognize the opportunities for justice and equity.
-Rebecca
New Research Alert: Abortion Research Resource Guide
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Posted @ebbirth on April 30, 2021
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Oparah, J. C., James, J. E., Barnett, D., et al. (2021). Creativity, Resilience and Resistance: Black Birthworkers’ Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in sociology, 6, 636029.
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An article published in March 2021 is the first research to date on the perspectives of Black birthworkers supporting pregnant and birthing people and new parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research project, called Still Battling Over Birth, builds on Battling Over Birth, a prior study carried out by Black Women Birthing Justice (BWBJ).
Dr. Oparah, Dr. James, and co-researchers contacted potential participants about six months into the pandemic via email, social media, personal networks, and the BWBJ Black doula locator. After an informed consent process, Black birthworkers were offered the opportunity to participate in one of four virtual sharing circles, each with 8-12 participants and 2-3 co-researchers facilitating (including at least one birthworker). Co-researchers were intentional about creating a safe, supportive, healing space for discussion, guided by questions posted in Zoom.
In total, 38 birthworkers participated in the sharing circles, including doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, community health workers, and ob/gyns. The majority indicated that doula work was their primary role, and most were located in California. They reported many impacts from COVID-19 restrictions, including inadequate or inconsistent care, mandatory testing, separation from newborns, and restricted access to labor support. The sharing circles provided a space for mutual support and exchanging information about creative approaches to supporting Black parents during the pandemic, navigating experiences of racism, and sources of strength. (You can join the BWBJ Black Birthworkers Forum here for a similar virtual gathering of support and strategy.)
Black birthworkers are “filling a gap that is always present, but wider than ever during the pandemic.” They must be compensated for the critical work they are doing! Public and private resources invested in Black birthworkers today will have a significant impact on health outcomes during and beyond the pandemic. Click here for ways to support BWBJ.
#BattlingOverBirth #BirthingJustice #LiberateBlackBirth #BlackMamasMatter
Written by Anna Bertone, EBB Research Team
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Posted @ebbirth on May 7, 2021
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Maternal/perinatal leave policies are a crucial part of societies that value the lives of parents and children. Paid perinatal leave reduces infant mortality rates (Snyder) and depression (Kornfeind). It also increases breastfeeding which, in turn, lowers the infant’s risk for SIDS, type 2 diabetes, and asthma, while also lowering the birthing parent’s risk for breast and ovarian cancers (Mirkovic).
The U.S. is 1 of only 2 countries in the world that has no national standard for paid perinatal leave (Dagher). The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates eligible employers provide unpaid family leave but does not guarantee birthing parents an income to support themselves and their child as they recover postpartum.
Only 17% of workers in the U.S. have access to paid leave. In Canada, 89% of birthing parents with insurable employment receive 55% of their wages for 15 weeks (Doucet). The United Kingdom offers Statutory Maternity Pay of up to 90% of wages for 39 weeks postpartum.
Black birthing people in the U.S. have further inequities. Even UNPAID perinatal leave — as mandated by FMLA — is less tenable for Black birthing parents. Zagorsky’s analysis of the Current Population Survey for 1994 to 2015 found that 69% of White birthing parents utilized maternity leave versus 13% of Black birthing parents and 12% of Latinx birthing parents. Experts believe lack of perinatal leave support contributes to health crises facing Black families in the U.S., who face disparate rates of postpartum and infant mortality.
In the U.S., we need to: 1) pass a supportive national leave policy, 2) alleviate parents’ financial strain postpartum — shown to have positive trickle-down effects on perinatal mental health and wellbeing (Aitken), and 3) ensure Black birthing parents have access to paid leave, especially given occupational segregation, workplace discrimination, and higher rates of Black maternal death in the U.S. (Dagher).
#Blackparents #Blackbirthingparents
Caption by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship
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Posted @ebbirth on May 14, 2021
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Most (85%) of U.S. workers do not have access to paid family leave. Families, businesses, and the economy suffer as it is left up to employers to create voluntary policies that are often outdated and/or insufficient, especially for families of color (NationalPartnership.org).
Generally, partners take less family leave than birthing people. Men in the U.S. take < 1 week of paternity leave on average (Petts et al) and this time is often unpaid. In stark contrast, countries such as Norway have generous social initiatives, such as the “father’s quota,” that incentivizes paid paternity leave for 10 weeks or more (Meil).
Studies show that partners who spend more time with their infants have lower levels of depression and higher parenting self-efficacy (Bamishigbin). Other benefits include a positive impact on childhood development and family relationships (Petts & Knoester), and more involvement in childrearing (Nepomnyaschy & Waldfogel).
Many partners who are underemployed, low-paid, or part-time workers — and who do not receive any amount of leave (paid or unpaid) — are Latinx or Black (Bureau of Labor Support). Even though 57% of Black fathers parents are eligible for unpaid leave, only 43% of them can afford to take it. At an even lower rate, only about 1/4th of Latinx fathers can afford to take FMLA (DiversityDataKids.org).
Paternity leave policies in the U.S. are woefully insufficient and need a thoughtful federal policy solution. In particular, Black and Latinx partners need greater attention, as institutionalized racism has created unequitable access to education and wealth building, pushing parents of color into jobs that do not provide family leave.
#racialdisparities #paternityleave #familyleave
Caption by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship
Sources:
- Bamishigbin Jr, Olajide N., Dawn K. Wilson, Demetrius A. Abshire, Cilia Mejia-Lancheros, and Christine Dunkel Schetter. “Father Involvement in Infant Parenting in an Ethnically Diverse Community Sample: Predicting Paternal Depressive Symptoms.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 1, 2020, p. 1-13.
- Ferrari, AJ, Somerville AJ, Baxter AJ, Norman R, Patten SB, Vos T, et al. “Global variation in the prevalence and incidence of major depressive disorder: A systematic review of the epidemiological literature.” Psychol Med, vol. 43, no. 1, 2013, p. 471-81.
- “FMLA: Limited Eligibility and Affordability for Fathers.” Diversity Data Kids, 2015. https://www.diversitydatakids.org/sites/default/files/file/fmla_fathers-of-color_october_2015_final_0.pdf
- Meil, Gerardo. “European Men’s Use of Parental Leave and Their Involvement in Child Care and Housework.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 44, no. 5, 2013, p. 557-570.
- “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2787, Mar & Sep 2017. https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2017/ebbl0061.pdf
- Nepomnyaschy, L. and J. Waldfogel. “Paternity Leave and Fathers’ Involvement With Their Young Children: Evidence From the American ECLS-B.” Community, Work, & Family, vol. 10, no. 1m 2007, p. 427-453.
- “Paid Family and Medical Leave: A Racial Justice Issue — and Opportunity.” NationalPartnership.org, Aug 2018. https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-leave/paid-family-and-medical-leave-racial-justice-issue-and-opportunity.pdf
- Petts, Richard and Chris Knoester. “Paternity Leave-Taking and Father Engagement.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 80, no. 5, 2018, p. 1144-1162.
- Petts, Richard J., Chris Knoester, and Qi Li. “Paid Paternity Leave-Taking in the United States.” Community Work Fam, vol. 23, no. 2, p. 162-183.
- “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to and Use of Paid Family and Medical Leave: Evidence From Four Nationally Representative Datasets.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, Jan 2019. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/racial-and-ethnic-disparities-in-access-to-and-use-of-paid-family-and-medical-leave.html
Show more Evidence on: Racism and Maternal Health
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*The image attached above is a slideshow.*
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A Book of Medical Discourses (1883) Written by Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
The first Black woman to receive a medical degree in the United States
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We all stand on someone’s shoulders. Who do we have to thank for brilliant doctors like 34-year-old Kizzmekia Corbett, the leading immunologist who helped design the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine? Why, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler!
Born in the time of slavery, but in a free state, a young Rebecca was first inspired by watching her aunt care for sick neighbors. She worked as a nurse for 8 years under doctors who mentored and recommended her, and at age 33, received a scholarship that made her degree in homeopathy and medicine possible. When the Civil War ended, Dr. Crumpler worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau in Virginia, caring for freed slaves whom white doctors refused to treat.
She returned to Boston to establish a family practice for poor women and children, and at age 52, published A Book of Medical Discourses, believed to be the first medical text written by a Black author. Dr. Crumpler describes a variety of newborn and postpartum conditions and discourages diluting breastmilk or giving infants tea or molasses, to avoid cholera and other illnesses.
Dr. Melody McCloud, OB/GYN at Emory University and Medical Director at Atlanta Women’s Health Care, has written extensively about her life, because previously the story was little known. “Crumpler’s journey to medical school was a phenomenal accomplishment, as she encountered both sexism and racism” says McCloud. “Some of the hospitals wouldn’t grant her admitting privileges… pharmacists refused to fill her prescriptions, some people joked that the ‘M.D.’ behind her name stood for ‘mule driver.’ Dr. Crumpler only finally received a proper gravestone in July 2020, due to fundraising and media.
Black women still represent only 2% of active physicians, and Dr. Corbett has a similar story of success through early inspiration, mentorship and scholarships. Tag here all the current or future Black women doctors you want to uplift today!
Written by Ihotu Ali, MPH (@ihotuali), EBB Research Team
#blackdoctors #blackwomendoctors
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Master Midwife, Activist, and Educator Nonkululeko Tyehemba was said to consider herself part of a long tradition of Black Midwifery, known to many as Grand Midwives (as opposed to a more diminutive term, “Granny Midwives”).
Mary Cole, featured in 1953 Georgia Public Health film All My Babies, and Margaret Charles Smith, author of Listen to Me Good, were just two of a generation of grand midwives supporting poor and families of color in the rural South. Shafia Monroe, Midwife, Educator, and EBB Podcast Guest, reflects that “one of the darkest moments in U.S. history was the systematic eradication of the African American midwife from her community, resulting in a legacy of birth injustices.”
Discussed openly in JAMA as “The Midwife Problem,” respected physicians claimed that “great danger lies in the possibility of attempting to educate the midwife. If she once becomes a fixed element in our social and economic system… we may never be able to get rid of her” (Charles Ziegler, MD, 1913).
Few remain in this midwifery tradition, brought to the U.S. from Africa, where midwives were also spiritual healers, mentors, and advocates, their knowledge passed from elder to apprentice, even through generations of slavery.
Elder Tyehemba not only attended births, she also founded the Harlem Birth Action Committee, educated parents and trained doulas, and was among the early local promoters of the “postpartum visit.” She advocated for a USPS stamp to honor the Black Grand Midwife, and worked alongside midwives in Somalia.
Chanel Porchia of Ancient Song Doula Services honors her memory, sharing that “she was the first person to invite Ancient Song to speak at a conference, who advocated for us to be in rooms where decisions were being made… We always honored her presence as you would when royalty enters a room. It is important that we honor our teachers while they are here.”
Image by @chanel_porchia
Written by Ihotu Ali (@ihotuali), EBB Research Team
@birthaction #BlackMidwives #BlackBirth
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Landry AM, Molina RL, Marsh R, et al. (2021). How Should Health Professional Education Respond to Widespread Racial and Ethnic Health Inequity and Police Brutality? AMA J Ethics. 2021 Feb 1;23(2):E127-131.
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“Health professions schools and educators can struggle to meaningfully incorporate lessons about how to respond well to real-time, ongoing injustices,” explains Alden M. Landry, MD, MPH.
Dr. Landy is the Assistant Dean for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, where he is also the Director of Health Equity Education. He is also an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School.
He and colleagues published eight recommendations on how health educators can promote social justice and better care for students:
1. “Educate yourself on how current strife is embedded in historical context.” Educators have a responsibility to teach themselves about systemic racism, and all schools should offer faculty development opportunities.
2. “Recognize that students might be struggling with social isolation, cognitive overload, depression, anger, pain, sorrow, fear, detachment, and other feelings that can interfere with their learning and engagement in classrooms and clinical environments.” Educators should prioritize ways to help students manage stress levels; for example, avoid cold-calling students because they may not always be able to fully engage with the material.
3. “Create safe spaces for students to engage in discussion about large-scale current events.”
4. “Reach out.” Let students know that you care and that you recognize current events can cause significant distress.
5. “Be flexible.” Take advantage of opportunities to teach about the legacy of racism in medicine and discuss ways to counter racism in practice.
6. “Monitor your own emotions and levels of engagement.”
7. “If you feel unsure about how to discuss racism in the classroom, trust the educational alliance.” This is a framework for supporting and listening carefully to students.
8. “Let students guide selection of health inequity inquiries.” Nearly half of medical schools do not require teaching about the social determinants of health, including the influences of racism. Teaching this content is necessary to address health inequity!
Read the full article here to learn more. Also, check out this episode of Alicia M. Williams’ Medicine In Color podcast featuring Dr. Landry.
Written by Anna Bertone, EBB Research Team
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Posted on March 12, 2021
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Bor, J., Venkataramani, A., Williams, D., et al. (2018). Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of Black Americans: A population-based, quasi-experimental study. The Lancet. 2018 Jul 28.
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Content Warning: Police Violence
Did you know that <2% of therapists under the American Psychological Association identify as Black?
A 2018 Lancet study found the mental health burden from police killings alone nearly as large as the mental health burden associated with diabetes. The National Alliance on Mental Health states that 2 out of 3 Black Americans do not receive the care they need, and are less likely to receive guideline-consistent care or be included in research. In tragic irony, Black people may also feel conflicted about calling 911 in a mental health emergency, due to the risk of violence. Data from the Treatment Advocacy Center estimate that 25% of police killings involve individuals with mental illness.
Researchers suggest increasing Black representation across the mental health field, from psychiatrists to social workers (Greenwood et al., 2019). Scholarships, student loan forgiveness, and tax credits can help diversify this critical profession.
Even in the relative absence of culturally congruent mental health care, however, Black communities continue a legacy of self-healing and creative, holistic support systems. Black doulas, massage therapists, acupuncturists, energy workers, herbalists and spiritual leaders offer culturally congruent care from integrative medicine and indigenous perspectives. Popular self-care practices also abound including altar work, meditation, astrology – and even campaigns to elevate naps as a form of resistance, reparations, and healing justice.
We hope in the future for more evidence on these healing practices, and for the continued growth of a holistic Black mental health network that is culturally congruent, effective and accessible to all who need it.
To connect with a Black therapist or wellness practitioner, follow:
@blackmentalwellness @beam @blhensonfoundation @rootsofresistance @divinebirthwisdom @liberatemeditation @prentishemphill @elysianspirittarotllc @napministry @everyonesplace
Written by Ihotu Ali @ihotuali, EBB Research Associate
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Posted on March 19, 2021
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Wilkerson, I. (2020). Caste: The origins of our discontents.
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With heavily researched narrative and poetic storytelling, Isabel Wilkerson links the caste systems of the U.S., India, and Nazi Germany, and explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems, including divine will, bloodlines, dehumanization, and more.
Publishers Marketplace declared Caste the #1 book of 2020 across all genres. It was called “an instant American classic” by The New York Times, and Oprah proclaimed it “the most essential…the most necessary-for-all-humanity book that I have chosen.”
What makes Caste essential reading? This brilliant nonfiction book enlightens us to an invisible program—the hidden U.S. caste system—governing us all, and only by awakening to our captivity can we “threaten the hum of the matrix.”
A caste system, Wilkerson writes, is “an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits, traits that would be neutral in the abstract but are ascribed life-and-death meaning.”
Wilkerson describes caste as “fixed and rigid” while race is “fluid and superficial, subject to redefinition to meet the needs of the dominant caste.” For example, not all European immigrants to what is now the U.S. were considered white at first, but over time it served the dominant caste to expand the definition of white. In the future, the hierarchy will likely “shape-shift” again.
The caste system is a “subconscious code of instructions” for maintaining an unjust social order that resides in you, in me, in providers, educators, researchers, and law enforcement.
Rates of neglect and abuse during pregnancy and childbirth are consistently higher for Black birthing people. In some cases, mistreatment is due to overt racism; other times, invisible programming is at work. If you find yourself in the dominant caste (through no merit or fault of your own), beware the dangers of implicit bias. Awaken and reprogram.
“We are responsible for our own ignorance or, with time and openhearted enlightenment, our own wisdom.”
Written by Anna Bertone, EBB Research Editor
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Posted on March 26, 2021
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Douglas, Sutton, & Cichocka. (2017). The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Current Directions in Psychological Science 26(6): 538-542.
“Poll: Americans’ Views of Systemic Racism Divided by Race.” UMassLowell, 22 Sept 2020.
https://www.uml.edu/News/press-releases/2020/SocialIssuesPoll092220.aspx
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A third of Americans think global warming is a hoax, and over half believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the only person involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Here at EBB, we wanted to know: how many people do not believe in systemic racism?
The UMass Center for Public Opinion conducted an independent, nonpartisan survey asking 1,000 participants about race, discrimination, and systemic racism. When asked about how discrimination factors into a range of topics, white respondents consistently minimized the role of race, while Black Americans had higher rates of self-reported discrimination. With policing, 48% of white respondents think Black people are treated less fairly than white people, while 73% of Black respondents think they are treated less fairly. Similarly, 53% of white Americans say Black people face job discrimination, compared to 83% of Blacks who said they faced job discrimination.
Another poll, conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, confirmed this bias, while also emphasizing how partisanship contributes to public opinion on racial discrimination. For instance, 43% of self-identified Republicans say racial discrimination is a big problem in the US, compared to 87% of non-Republicans.
White study participants routinely minimize the impacts of systemic racism in the U.S., possibly out of a need to “reduce uncertainty” when available information is disruptive to the system, or as a way to “defend” strongly held beliefs (Douglas & Cichocka, 2017). Whatever the reason, it is clear that, like with conspiracy theories, some people are resistant to facts and invested in preserving their beliefs.
To combat this, we need to listen to the self-reporting of Black Americans.
#systemicracism #racism #conspiracytheories #blacklivesmatter
Caption by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship.
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Ukoha, E. P., Davis, K., Yinger, M., et al. (2021). Ensuring Equitable Implementation of Telemedicine in Perinatal Care. Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Feb 4. Click here.
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Telemedicine is defined as “two-way, real-time communication between a patient and practitioner.” The use of telemedicine has increased enormously because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will likely continue to play a significant role in maternity care moving forward. Therefore, it is key that care providers, health care systems, researchers, payers, and policy makers consider how to promote equitable implementation of telemedicine so that existing racial and ethnic disparities are improved, not made worse.
A recent article published by Erinma P. Ukoha, MD, MPH and colleagues in Obstetrics & Gynecology discusses recommendations to promote equitable implementation of telemedicine.
They recommend, for example, that health care providers should “acknowledge and mitigate implicit biases to ensure telemedicine is offered to every patient who is medically eligible.” Studies have found that Black, Latinx, and low-income patients are less likely to be offered patient portal access because of provider assumptions about their access to technology, digital literacy, and interest. However, a survey of predominantly uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients scheduled for pregnancy-related visits during COVID-19 found that the majority of respondents were interested in having a video visit and able to complete one.
So, instead of making assumptions about pregnant clients—assumptions influenced by implicit biases—find out how each individual feels about the option of using telemedicine. For some, telemedicine could help improve their access to care if they face barriers to in-person visits because of long commutes or lack of transportation, childcare, or time off work. Others may prefer in-person visits because of concerns about loss of privacy or feeling less engaged with video visits. The authors also recommend that providers “systematically identify and document practitioner difficulties in conducting visits with patients who have lower digital access and literacy, limited English proficiency, and other unique barriers to help identify additional tools and support required.”
Read the full article here to learn more and view all of the recommendations!
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Jessel, S., Sawyer, S., and Hernández, D. (2019). Energy, Poverty, and Health in Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review of an Emerging Literature. Frontiers in public health, 7, 357. Click here.
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Communities in Texas were hit with unprecedented power outages in the wake of deadly Winter Storm Uri (Feb. 12-16, 2021). The resulting heat and water crisis was amplified for Black and Latinx families, even as these populations continue to bear the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with USA TODAY, Chauncia Willis, chief executive of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management, an Atlanta-based non-profit focused on emergency management and racial justice, explains, “What you will see, as with COVID-19 and with any disaster, is disproportionate death and negative impacts for those who are most vulnerable among us. These inequities are easily identifiable before disaster and, of course, they’re rooted in systemic bias, racism and the country’s anti-poverty mindset.”
Jessel et al. (2019) conducted a comprehensive review that discussed overlapping issues intersecting with energy insecurity. For example, residential segregation (from deliberate policies designed to promote white supremacy) concentrates Black families in poorer quality housing at increased risk of outages and delays in recovering from energy disruptions (i.e. New York City Housing Authority).
In Texas, utility companies prioritized keeping power on in downtown areas with hospitals and other critical centers, which benefited wealthier neighborhoods nearby, while lower-income, historically Black and Latinx neighborhoods, went without power.
Injustice precedes and follows natural disasters. Researchers have documented increases in racial wealth inequality after natural disasters because of inequitable distribution of emergency aid. Black and brown communities get fewer resources and white communities get more. The authors say, “The good news is that if we develop more equitable approaches to disaster recovery, we can not only better tackle that problem but also help build a more just and resilient society.”
Texas is getting emergency aid after this storm. It is anti-racist work to see that these resources are distributed equitably!
Click here for a running list of resources and ways to help Texans struggling to recover from the storm, provided by Anti-Racism Daily.
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*The image attached above is a slideshow.*
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Mapping Police Violence
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
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Content Warning: Police violence
On March 8th, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial begins for the death of George Floyd. Our hearts are with Minneapolis for another tense moment, as state buildings are reinforced with barbed wire and high-level security. At EBB, we are practicing solidarity by sharing research on police accountability as a public health intervention, because data suggest that despite nationwide protests, police violence continues, as does police impunity in the courts.
Police impunity in the United States is not only a public health crisis – it’s a violation of international law. According to Amnesty International, all 50 states fall short of complying with international standards, and 1 in 4 states lack any guidelines at all on the appropriate use of deadly force.
@mappingpoliceviolence data published in the Lancet show virtually no consequences for lethal use of force by police. The vast majority (98.3%) of U.S. police killings since 2013 resulted in no charges. Even in rare cases where an arrest is made, data show a conviction rate of 0.3%. Instead, millions of taxpayer dollars go to private settlements for the families – funds that could be used for education and creating jobs.
Researchers propose that police department liability insurance could shift the burden from taxpayers back onto police departments and the officers who commit misconduct. Efforts to reduce preventable cesareans and black maternal deaths also follow this model of demanding accountability and transparency.
How can you show solidarity through this trial? Offer care and tangible support to Black friends and colleagues, because chances of acquittal are high, and research shows there are spillover mental health effects (Bor et al., 2018). Share this Black tile with media and community leaders to advocate for evidence-based solutions such as liability insurance, police scorecards, repealing “qualifier immunity,” and following California’s “use-of-force” laws. To learn more, follow:
@sociologistray @deray @samswey @nettaaaaaaaa @philstinson @jacobbor
#blacklivesmatter #policebrutality #georgefloyd
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Amutah, C., Greenidge, K., Mante, A., et al. (2021). Misrepresenting Race — The Role of Medical Schools in Propagating Physician Bias. Published at NEJM.org. Click here.
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Researchers examined nearly 900 lectures in one institution’s preclinical medical curriculum. They found five key domains in which educators misrepresented race in their lectures:
1. Semantics. Educators used imprecise and inappropriate labels when discussing race and health disparities. For example, racial labels such as “Caucasian,” “Black,” “African American,” and “Asian” were used to refer to innate biologic differences between patients (e.g., genetic predisposition to a particular disease). But it’s critical to understand and internalize that the categories we use to discuss race are social, not scientific. Social racial categories are not accurate representations of genetic ancestry. See the IOM report Standardization of Race, Ethnicity, and Language.
2. Discussion of disease prevalence by race/ethnicity without context. Teaching students that “Black” patients have higher rates of different diseases compared to “White” patients without providing context for the health disparity can lead students to falsely attribute the disparity to biologic differences.
3. Instruction to diagnose diseases based on race/ethnicity. Students should not be taught to diagnose disease based on race. Race is a social category that is linked to social factors known to affect disease risk (e.g., residential segregation and asthma prevalence). Sometimes race is also used as a poor proxy for ancestry.
4. Linking non-Whites to increased disease burden in general (pathologizing race). Educators routinely referenced worse health outcomes for non-White patients without discussing racism’s harmful effects on health. Not only were these lectures missed opportunities to discuss the role of racism, but also they may have introduced false beliefs about race-based hierarchies.
5. Instruction to follow race-based clinical guidelines. Guidelines that endorse diagnosing and treating disease differently based on race are often flawed and misguided.
Does this mean educators should avoid discussions about race and researchers should ignore racial health disparities? No!
It means the words we use and the context we provide around race and racism matters and deserves more attention.
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Montoya-Williams, D., Williamson, V. G., Cardel, M., et al. (2020). The Hispanic/Latinx Perinatal Paradox in the United States: A Scoping Review and Recommendations to Guide Future Research. J Immigr Minor Health. 2020 Oct 31. Click here.
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Over the last several decades, researchers have noted that Hispanic/Latinx individuals who live in the United States (U.S.) tend to have birth outcomes more similar to White parents than to Black parents, despite their significant socioeconomic barriers. This unexpected health advantage is often referred to as the “Hispanic paradox.”
However, in recent years, there is growing evidence that the Hispanic/Latinx paradox is not uniform across all subgroups. Researchers are now raising concerns that lumping everyone together obscures important health disparities.
Dr. Montoya-Williams and colleagues performed a scoping review of the research on Hispanic/Latinx birth outcomes in the U.S., focusing on rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and infant death. Their review described wide variation in birth outcomes experienced by Hispanic/Latinx parents in the U.S. and identified three major themes.
First, foreign-born Hispanic/Latinx parents had more favorable birth outcomes than U.S.-born Hispanic/Latinx parents. This finding mirrors research on better birth outcomes among immigrant Black parents compared to their U.S.-born counterparts, indicating harmful effects of racism on people who live their entire lives in the U.S.
Second, birthing parents’ country or region of origin was linked to their birth outcomes in the U.S. Specifically, Mexican-born and South American-born immigrants were at lower risk for poor birth outcomes compared to immigrants from the Caribbean.
Lastly, variation in birth outcomes may be related to different sociocultural experiences for Hispanic/Latinx parents in the U.S. Research has documented that being socioeconomically disadvantaged and experiencing racism and discrimination is linked to worse birth outcomes among Black parents. In the Hispanic/Latinx community, these toxic exposures are likely impacting some subgroups more severely than others. This is an important area for future research.
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*The image attached above is a slideshow.*
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The More Up Campus, 501(c)3 Non-profit organization
https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org/
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The More Up Campus in Montgomery, Alabama, led by Executive Director Michelle Browder, is erecting a 15-foot public monument honoring the “Mothers of Gynecology”—Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey. The monument will stand near the place where J. Marion Sims, the so-called “Father of Gynecology,” conducted his experiments on enslaved subjects without anesthesia or consent in the 1840s.
J. Marion Sims acquired Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey (and approximately seven other enslaved subjects) from plantations in and around Montgomery for purposes of surgical experimentation, hoping these experiments would lead to discoveries and advance his medical career. Although recent research has called the success of Sims’s experiments into question, Sims did parlay the Alabama fistula experiments into international recognition. Meanwhile, history has forgotten the Black women (who were both subjects and nurses) to whom he owes his fame and fortune.
More Up is working to change how we remember history “by finding creative ways to honor the voiceless, the minimized, the ignored.” With this project they hope to finally give a voice to Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey. They also hope to depict the cruel practices that were common under slavery and spread awareness about current racism in health care.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Mothers of Gynecology Monument will be held on Mother’s Day, May 9, 2021.
If you work for an organization dedicated to birth justice and racial justice, consider purchasing a custom laser engraved brick for the grounds surrounding the monument. It would be wonderful to see an outpouring of support for this project from doula, midwifery, and OBGYN advocates! Individuals can also purchase bricks in honor of a loved one or to share a message with future generations. Order by February 28, 2021 to support the brick campaign.
Visit the More Up Campus website to learn more, sign up for their newsletter, make press inquiries, donate, and find more ways to support this incredible organization.
#medicalbondage #jmarionsims #gynecology #slavery #sayhername #blacklivesmatter #blackmaternalhealth #anarchalucybetsey #themoreupcampus #seeAnarchasTruth
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Tema Okun (building on the work of many people)
https://www.dismantlingracism.org/white-supremacy-culture.html
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“White supremacy culture is the idea (ideology) that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to People of Color and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions.”
This ideology can show up in any group or organization because we are all influenced by the larger society in which we live. It can be difficult to identify white supremacy culture in our organizations because, although it is widely encountered, it is omnipresent almost to the point of invisibility. Tema Okun (author, activist, facilitator) put together a list of white supremacy characteristics and their antidotes. The list of characteristics includes:
• Perfectionism
• A sense of urgency
• Defensiveness
• Valuing quantity over quality
• Worship of the written word
• Belief in only one right way
• Paternalism
• Either/or thinking
• Power hoarding
• Fear of open conflict
• Individualism
• Belief that I’m the only one (who can do this ‘right’)
• The belief that progress is bigger and more
• A belief in objectivity
• Claiming a right to comfort
Instead of falling into the destructive patterns above, organizations are urged to develop a culture of appreciation, where it is expected that everyone will make mistakes and those mistakes offer opportunities for learning.
Teamwork holds more value than individualism and the desire for individual recognition and credit. It is worth taking the time to encourage democratic decision-making that is thoughtful and inclusive.
Measurable goals are not all that matters; there is value in quality and process, and more than one way to reach the same goal. Relatedly, progress toward success does not always mean more growth.
More energy should be spent on taking steps to eliminate racism than defending against charges of racism. To counteract white supremacy culture, it has to be acceptable for people to raise hard issues, even when they make others uncomfortable. In fact, welcome these opportunities! “Discomfort is at the root of all growth and learning.”
For more details about these characteristics and their antidotes, click here.
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*The image attached above is a slideshow.*
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Vedam, S., Stoll, K., MacDorman, M., et al. (2018). Mapping integration of midwives across the United States: Impact on access, equity, and outcomes. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 21;13(2):e0192523. Click here. Free full text!
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A very important study called the “Access and Integration Maternity Care Mapping (AIMM) Study” was published in 2018 by a multidisciplinary team of experts (*trigger warning: infant mortality*). The point of the study was to find out if integrating midwives into the maternity care system changes health outcomes. They were looking at integration of all types of certified midwives (CNMs, CMs, CPMs). All of these midwives follow the Midwives Model of Care™- a holistic, client-centered model of care that has demonstrated excellent outcomes in every birth setting.
The research team developed the Midwifery Integration Scoring System (MISS), which scored each state on criteria such as whether the laws and regulations support or limit midwifery, the ability for midwives to prescribe medicine, access to insurance coverage, and the ability to make smooth transfers to advanced medical care when needed.
For the first time, this research established that states with higher midwifery integration scores (MISS scores) were associated with improved outcomes for birthing parents and babies, even when taking into account the impact of race. Increased access to midwifery care was linked to increased breastfeeding/chestfeeding, reduced medical interventions, increased VBAC, and lower newborn death—including race-specific newborn death.
The research team found that in states where more Black babies were born, integration of midwives was lower compared to states where fewer Black babies were born. Access to midwives and density of midwives were also significantly lower in states where more Black babies were born. The states with the most Black births reported the highest rates of newborn death. However, they found that New York State has a high density of Black births but one of the lowest rates of newborn death in the U.S., and it has a MISS score in the top 25%. North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi have a high percentage of Black births, high rates of newborn death, and very low MISS scores. This evidence strongly suggests that integration of midwives could help reduce racial health disparities.
You can learn about your state’s score at BirthPlaceLab.org and explore the maps at https://www.birthplacelab.org/maps/.
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Julian, Z., Robles, D., Whetstone, S., et al. (2020). Community-informed models of perinatal and reproductive health services provision: A justice-centered paradigm toward equity among Black birthing communities. Semin Perinatol. 2020 Aug;44(5):151267. Click here.
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A recent publication identified and compared two different perinatal and reproductive health care models: physician-centered models and community-informed models.
Physician-centered models, the authors explain, focus on individual level risk factors for poor health outcomes and prioritize individual behavioral interventions. They rarely address structural racism as a root cause of inequity among Black birthing communities. Provider types working within the physician-centered care model can include MDs, NPs, CNMs, and RNs. Care is provided in clinics and hospitals; professional training is institutionalized and narrowly focused (i.e., medicine, nursing); and the power structure is hierarchal.
On the other hand, community-informed models focus on larger systems of inequity from a framework rooted in reproductive justice. Instead of assuming that poor health outcomes are due to individual physiology and individual behavior (i.e. “Mother Blame” narratives), community-informed models understand that differences in power create different opportunities for health. Providers practicing within community-informed care models can include CNMs, CPMs, LMs, NPs, RNs, and MDs. Care is provided in homes, birth centers, clinics, and hospitals; professional training is multidisciplinary, experiential, and institutionalized; and providers work in collaborative partnership with the community they serve.
The authors recommend that the OBGYN workforce move toward community-informed models through racial workforce diversification, reckoning with the professional legacy of racism in medical education, and innovation in interprofessional education and collaboration. For example, interprofessional training should be broadened to include Black and Indigenous midwives in community settings, as well as opportunities to learn from professionals in public health, bioethics, humanities, and social sciences.
Read the full article by Zoë Julian and colleagues to learn more.
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Carter, S. E., Ong, M. L., Simons, R. L., et al. (2019). The effect of early discrimination on accelerated aging among African Americans. Health Psychology, 38(11), 1010–1013.
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The Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) is the largest study of Black families in the U.S., involving over 800 participating families. The study was established in 1996 at Iowa State University and the University of Georgia and is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is a longitudinal investigation of the effect of various factors, including racial discrimination, on Black parents and their children. When the study began in 1996, every participating family contained a 5th grader. Those 5th graders are now adults in their early 30’s!
In the ongoing study, researchers have collected data from the participants every two to three years, including self-reported questionnaires on the experiences of racial discrimination (i.e. racially based slurs, insults, and physical threats) and depressive symptoms. In 2015, the researchers also started taking blood samples to assess biomarkers that predict diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, and to examine signs of aging on a cellular level. Over 200 papers have been published using data from the FACHS.
A 2019 study by Carter et al. included a subset of data from the FACHS. They found evidence that early life stress due to racial discrimination leads to depressive symptoms and increased risk for accelerated aging. Their findings build on previous research demonstrating a link between experiences of racial discrimination and accelerated aging.
Next, the FACHS research team plans to explore the role of resiliency and early life interventions that could possibly help to protect against the harmful effects of racism. You can read a research brief on this topic here at The Conversation.
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Racism. Where do you fall? www.racismscale.weebly.com.
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The Racism Scale was created to help white people identify their racial bias towards People of Color along a graduated scale. At one end of the scale is “Terrorism” and at the other end is “Abolitionist.” In between, there are 11 other positions including “Subconscious racism,” “Defensive,” “Denial,” White Savior,” and “Performative Ally.” The creator notes, “It is common for many people to move back & forth along the scale regularly, especially the middle parts.”
The scale has been shared over 10k times and referenced in several articles. It has been updated and expanded five times since its creation. You can visit the webpage to see the progression of the scale from creation to its current version and to ask questions or suggest additions. Anyone is invited to use the graphic for non-profit social justice work (credit www.racismscale.weebly.com). For-profit enterprises that wish to use the scale may contact the creator.
The Racism Scale is a volunteer project! Consider donating to support this valuable initiative.
Dr. Kendi (author, professor, historian) teaches that there is no such thing as “not racist.” People in the U.S. grow up with constant exposure to racist ideas and racist policies that we learn to view as normal; we can’t just wake up one day and change all that. However, we can (and must!) commit to being antiracist, which means challenging racist ideas and racist policies on a daily basis.
“The heartbeat of racism is denial, is consistently saying, “I am not racist,” while the heartbeat of antiracism is confession, self-reflection, and seeking to grow change.”- Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, from The Millions Interview.
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University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). SACRED Birth during COVID-19. https://sacredbirth.ucsf.edu/
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The SACRED Birth Study is collecting information about Black patient experiences in U.S. hospital settings during labor, birth, and postpartum. The study focuses on six key areas identified from 2019 community-based focus groups: Safety, Autonomy, Communication, Racism, Empathy, and Dignity.
The goal of the study is to test a new survey called the Patient-Reported Experience Measure of OBstetric racism, also known as the PREM-OB Scale. This scale will provide valuable information to hospitals, researchers, and the public on how racism affects maternity care in the hospital setting.
Black women scholars worked with Black birthing individuals/parents and partners in the Black birthing community to design both the SACRED Birth Study and the PREM-OB Scale. By Spring 2021, the SACRED Birth Study team plans to create and share a validated PREM-OB Scale, a hospital-based quality initiative toolkit, and a summary report on obstetric racism during COVID-19. But first, they need 1,000 participants to test the PREM-OB scale!
You may be eligible to join the study if… you identify as Black or African American, are 18 years of age or older, and gave birth to a live newborn at a U.S. hospital in 2020. Participants will receive a $100 electronic gift card as compensation for completing a one-time online survey that takes 1-2 hours (after completing the online self-screening, informed consent, contact form, and enrollment survey). According to the researchers, “Some of the survey questions may make you feel uncomfortable or raise unpleasant memories. You are free to skip any question. You are also encouraged to take breaks if needed.”
Healthcare centers are needed to refer patients to the SACRED Birth Study! The researchers are especially focusing on California and Memphis, TN.
There is a tremendous need for research on obstetric racism to guide quality improvement initiatives that will save lives. Please share this study far and wide!
Email: sacredbirth@ucsf.edu
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Smith, W. A., Yosso, T. & Solorzano, D. (2006). Challenging Racial Battle Fatigue on Historically White Campuses: A Critical Race Examination of Race-related Stress. In book: Faculty of Color Teaching in Predominantly White Colleges and Universities.
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There is a real phenomenon taking place that is harming the mental and physical health of Black people on a daily basis. Dr. William Smith, a professor and researcher at the University of Utah, coined the term “Racial Battle Fatigue” in the early 2000’s to describe what is happening.
Dr. Smith’s research focuses on his concept of Racial Battle Fatigue as an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that is useful for understanding the race-related experiences that contribute to disproportionate levels of stress among Black people. The term does not mean that Black civilians’ race-related experiences are the same as soldiers’ experiences in battle, but it draws a parallel between the battlefield and chronically hostile white spaces. Constant stressors in the form of racial microaggressions are taxing on Black people. Racial microaggressions are subtle verbal and non-verbal racial insults directed at People of Color by White people, often automatically or unconsciously. The stress from this onslaught of indignities causes a mental, emotional, and physical burden (i.e. Racial Battle Fatigue) that takes a toll on health and wellbeing.
This groundbreaking area of research is inextricably linked with the field of maternal and child health because the framework explains how racism impacts racial health inequities. For example, elevated blood pressure is one of the psychophysiological symptoms of Racial Battle Fatigue, and studies have shown clear racial disparities in risk of serious illness and death from preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
The Atlanta Black Star published an excellent article on the topic of Racial Battle Fatigue in 2016. They wrote, “White America tells Black people to get over the past, while Black people are suffering from the trauma of past and present racial oppression, and are tired of engaging in debates over racism, and justifying or explaining their experiences.”
It’s time to acknowledge that the past and present trauma is real and the fundamental factor that underlies our shameful racial health inequities is racism.
#microaggressions #racialbattlefatigue #racerelatedstress #racialhealthinequities #racebasedtrauma
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In last week’s anti-racism post, our research editor was looking up the research on the harmful effects of micro-aggressions, and she found an excellent handout from Hopkins, with specific examples of what micro-aggressions look and sound like.
This is Rebecca speaking— the founder of Evidence Based Birth. I made a commitment this year to do everything I can to educate fellow white birth professionals and health care professionals about racism. This includes educating white folks about specific things we need to STOP doing, and START doing instead. (If you aren’t familiar with the effects that racism has on maternal and newborn outcomes, just scroll through our feed and look through the black tiles. Also, check out our comments policy at ebbirth.com/comments … we have a zero tolerance policy for comments denying the existence of racism).
In today’s anti-racism post, I implore you to educate yourself about micro-aggressions. This was not something that was taught to me in school, college (nursing school), or graduate school. I had to learn about it myself. Once I learned what micro-aggressions looked and sounded like, I could check myself and make sure I was no longer complicit in using them.
Listen up, fellow white folks. We have GOT to STOP participating in creating constant micro-traumas for our Black friends, family, colleagues, students, and clients. Racial weathering is real. And it’s caused by people like me, who sometimes aren’t even aware of what we’re doing. Read the handout from Johns Hopkins [Link in bio]— it has VERY specific examples and it’s quite thorough. The handout should be required training for every hospital, academic center, and workplace! Read it today!
Educate yourself. When you know better, you do better!
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Kendi, I. X. and Reynolds, J. (2020). Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (March 10, 2020).
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There is a new book out this year on racism and anti-racism that’s being hailed as essential reading for young people ages 12 and up. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi is a remix of Dr. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning (2016).
The narrative is fast-paced and conversational, with large font and intentional breaks in the text (“Pause,” “Let’s all just take a deep breath”) that make it very accessible. The text discusses influential figures and events that propagated racist ideas from the 1400’s to present day, all the while reminding the reader “this is not a history book.” Dr. Kendi describes a racist idea as “any idea that suggests something is wrong or right, superior or inferior, better or worse about a racial group. Whereas an anti-racist idea is “any idea that suggests that racial groups are equals.”
Educating people (young and old) about the history of racist ideas has everything to do with U.S. maternity care. Our racial health inequities are shameful and we know that racism is to blame—not Black parents and babies. Seeking out resources such as Stamped (2020), its 2016 predecessor, and further reading is powerful because the information can help transform maternity care by illuminating racist ideas in daily life. As Jason Reynolds writes in the book, “We can’t attack a thing we don’t know.”
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Changing Woman Initiative (2020). A Native American Centered Women’s Health Collective 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. http://www.changingwomaninitiative.com/
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The Changing Woman Initiative (CWI), a 501(c)(3) organization in New Mexico founded by Native American midwife Nicolle Gonzales, is working to ensure access to decolonized, traditional maternity care options for Native American women.
One of their projects is to create the nation’s first Indigenously focused birth center on tribal lands. At this dreamed birth center, mothers would be able to have a ceremony with Indigenous midwives, eat traditional foods during labor that give strength, use plant medicines, and move about freely in a space designed to feel sacred, calm, and safe. There would be tubs, showers, fireplaces, and ample space for supporting family members.
The building itself incorporates elements of the natural landscape in the design and utilizes natural light, solar power, and water preservation— in keeping with traditional values about people’s connection to the land.
“We want our building to be a living embodiment of wellness and healing.”
In contrast, labor and delivery units in the Western medical health care system often impose strict hospital protocols forbidding food, as well as restricting mobility during labor, dictating positioning during birth, and limiting the number of visitors.
In addition to planning the birth center, the CWI also offers homebirth services and an easy access clinic that serves Indigenous women regardless of their ability to pay.
There are high rates of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, in Native communities. Colonialism and its destruction of food systems have cut Native people off from their traditional lifestyle and diet, and this has led to food-based diseases. To address this, the CWI partners with local Indigenous farmers to develop food baskets for prenatal and postpartum families.
The visionary leader of this organization is telling us ways to help heal Native families and future generations. We must listen and act now to support their Mission!
#racism #maternalhealth #indigenouspeople #indigenousbirths #indigenousmidwives
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Jamaa Birth Village (2020). A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Maternal Health Organization. https://jamaabirthvillage.org/
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At Jamaa Birth Village 501(c)(3) in Missouri, people of color are empowered with education, respect, and holistic midwifery care with skilled doula support.
Brittany “Tru” Kellman, Founder and Executive Director of Jamaa Birth Village, created Jamaa through a vision received while in Africa, standing at the same seaside where her ancestors were forcibly captured, torn from their loved ones, and brought to the Americas in horrific, inhumane conditions. In that vision she understood that her work was to bring traditional, holistic, African-centered midwifery care back to St. Louis. In order to combat U.S. racial and health inequities, she would work to restore and reclaim the traditional ways of caring for birthing families.
Tru experienced obstetrical abuse giving birth as a teen mom in St. Louis. She was mistreated, ignored and left feeling disempowered. She knew she deserved better care than she received. At Jamaa (which means “family” in Swahili), clients are treated the way you would want your family member treated.
Clients are supported with a variety of services including comprehensive prenatal and postpartum visits with a midwife; individualized birth doula support; individualized childbirth and nutrition classes; massage and chiropractic care; newborn feeding support; and access to mental health services, herbal medicines, and even baskets of fresh organic produce.
In a celebration of cultural heritage, Jamaa created an Apothecary that is accessible and affordable to everyone. Holistic body workers provide relief from the toxic stress we know can impact pregnancy outcomes.
In 2019, Tru became Missouri’s first Black certified professional midwife (CPM), in order to serve families in the provider role. Jamaa has supported over 400 families since June of 2016 and trained over 90 doulas of color since 2016. When they first started this work there were only five practicing doulas of color in the St. Louis region.
I encourage you to support Jamaa Birth Village’s work and learn more from Tru herself by listening to our recent conversation on EBB Podcast Episode 148!
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*The image attached above is a slideshow.*
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Imagine you had a Cesarean with your first child. Pregnant with your second, you want a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). You are 33 years old and in the “normal” range for BMI. According to the VBAC Calculator endorsed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, this means you are a favorable candidate for a VBAC.
BUT did you know that the VBAC calculators used by most U.S. physicians are racist? As the slideshow demonstrates, the white woman in scenario 1 is told they have a 72.5% VBAC success rate. But if you are Black, your rate is decreased to 57.4%.
In Scenario 2, the OB discourages you from having a VBAC. They cite racist beliefs in differences in “pelvic architecture” (Darshali et al) or pelvic connective tissue (Cahill et al). If you decide to attempt a VBAC anyways, the OB may treat you differently based on your lower score. That’s because being labeled with a high or low probability of VBAC can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if it leads to changes in how the care provider manages labor (to be more or less supportive of VBAC).
A scenario like this is not uncommon for Black parents desiring a VBAC, a practice proven to provide maternal health benefits. It’s time for clinicians to understand that VBAC calculators are racist. First, the algorithm implicitly accepts racial categories as “natural” rather than as “historically and socially constructed” (Darshali et al). Second, it’s racism, not race, that makes it harder for Black parents to have a VBAC (Darshali et al)–not anatomical differences.
We must reduce inequities in maternal health by addressing the racism in health care and education, rather than relying on a “calculator.”
Note: The MFMU Network (sponsored by the National Institute of Child. Health and Human Development) posted a note stating that “A new calculator without race and ethnicity is under development.” Although it’s encouraging that they plan to replace the calculator, we will never know how many Black families were harmed by this calculator.
#healthdisparities #blackmaternalhealth #blackwomen #blacklivesmatter
Caption and research by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctor
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Cooper Owens, Diedre. Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2017.
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Chances are, you’ve never heard of Dr. J. Marion Sims, even though you may have had his medical invention- the Sims speculum- inserted into your vagina. Sims is regarded by many as the “Father of Modern Gynecology.” In the 20th and 21st centuries, however, people have labeled Sims a “polarizing figure.” Likely, because of Sims’ “ethically fraught history” and racism, which included perfecting his gynecological surgical procedures on enslaved female bodies without the use of anesthesia.
Between 1845 and 1849, Dr. Sims, an Alabama surgeon, repeatedly operated on enslaved women in order to find a cure for gynecological fistulas. Slave owners saw women with this condition as “unfit” for their “duties required as a servant” and so they were happy to “lease” these women to Sims for his surgical experiments (Cooper Owens).
In the past decade, scholars like @deirdrecooperowens have challenged us to shift the focus away from a discussion of Sims and the illnesses he treated and on to the 3 black women who were both patients and nurses. Their names were Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy. Dr. Cooper Owens states we should consider these women as the “maternal counterparts” to Sims, or the Mothers of Gynecology.
In the book Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology (2017), Dr. Cooper Owens uncovers Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy’s roles as Sims’ surgical nurses AND as women who continued to do physical labor on the plantation, care for their children, and serve as experimental subjects. As Dr. Cooper Owens says, Medical Bondage is “not so much about historical recovery as it is about a holistic retrieval of owned women’s lives outside the hospital bed.”
Let’s begin to honor the Mothers of Gynecology. Say their names: Anarcha, Betsy, Lucy
#medicalbondage #lucybetsyanarcha #jmarionsims #gynecology #slavery #sayhername #blacklivesmatter #blackmaternalhealth
Read Dr. Diedre Cooper Owen’s book: Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2017.
Caption written by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship.
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Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Policy Working Group. Advancing Holistic Maternal Care for Black Women through Policy. Atlanta, GA. December 2018.
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The term White Paper is used to refer to an official report from an authority, usually describing and proposing a solution to a problem. In a genius reversal of words, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (@blackmamasmatter) published their first Black Paper in April 2018. In it, they outlined a vision for holistic maternal health care centered on reproductive justice and human rights.
According to the BMMA, holistic care: addresses gaps in care and ensures continuity of care; is affordable and accessible; is confidential, safe and trauma-informed; ensures informed consent; is centered around Black women and Black families; is culturally-informed and includes traditional practices; is culturally competent and congruent; respects spirituality and spiritual health; honors and fosters resilience; includes the voices of all Black Mamas; is responsive to the needs of all genders and family relationships; and provides wraparound services and connections to social services.
The BMMA’s second Black Paper (December 2018) describes policy solutions to help achieve the vision of holistic maternal health care for Black women and families. In brief, the three policy priorities that they identified are to 1) “Identify and ensure mechanisms for engagement and prioritization of Black women and Black-women led entities in policy and program development and implementation,” 2) “Establish equitable systems of care to address racism, obstetric violence, neglect, and abuse”, and 3) “Expand and protect meaningful access to quality, affordable, and comprehensive health care coverage, which includes the full spectrum of reproductive and maternal health care services for Black women.”
For full details, we encourage you to read both of the BMMA Black papers on their website. We also encourage you to donate and learn more at blackmamasmatter.org.
#blackmamasmatter #blackmaternalhealth #blackmamasmatteralliance
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Boyd, R. W., Lindo, E., G., Weeks, L. D., et al. (2020). “On Racism: A New Standard For Publishing On Racial Health Inequities, ” Health Affairs Blog, July 2, 2020.
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An article published on the Health Affairs Blog in July called for a new standard for research on racial health inequities.
The authors wrote that “despite racism’s alarming impact on health and the wealth of scholarship that outlines its ill effects, preeminent scholars and the journals that publish them, including Health Affairs, routinely fail to interrogate racism as a critical driver of racial health inequities.”
This new, higher standard calls for researchers to define race within a sociopolitical framework (not a biological one) and specify why race is an important variable to include in the study. Authors should explicitly name racism, as well as identify its form, the mechanism by which it may be operating, and other intersecting forms of oppression that may worsen its effects.
It is important for authors to avoid listing race as a risk factor. Racism, not race, causes health disparities. When researchers acknowledge this in their work, then interventions to address racism can be appropriately viewed as health interventions.
Researchers should not try to explain racial differences in health outcomes by stating that there may be unmeasured genetic or biological factors. There is no scientific evidence that the social construct of “races” represents distinct genetic identities.
Other recommendations for researchers were that they should get community input to make sure their research priorities reflect those of the community being studied. Authors should discuss the broader implications of their research for public policy and clinical practice. Finally, researchers should cite the experts, especially scholars of color who are experts on racism as the driver of racial health inequities.
Read the full article by Rhea W. Boyd, Edwin G. Lindo, Lachelle D. Weeks, and Monica R. McLemore here.
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1) Hinton, Perry. “Implicit Stereotypes and the Predictive Brain: Cognition and Culture in ‘Biased’ Person Perception.” Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, vol. 3, no. 17086, 2017.
2) Roeder, Amy. “America is Failing Its Black Mothers.” Harvard Public Health, Winter 2019.
3) Vedam, S., Stoll, K., Taiwo, T.K. et al. “The Giving Voice to Mothers Study: Inequity and Mistreatment During Pregnancy and Childbirth in the United States.” Reproductive Health, no. 15, vol. 77, p. 1-18, 2019.
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If you are Black, Latinx, or Indigenous, you are far more likely to experience implicit stereotyping (aka racism), or cognitive bias, in a medical setting. Patient-provider interactions, treatment decisions, treatment adherence, and patient health outcomes can all be affected by a provider’s bias (Hall et al).
Behaviorally, implicit stereotyping may manifest as mistreatment via “verbal abuse, stigma and discrimination, and delays and refusals in care” (Vedam et al).
For Serena Williams, Winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, mistreatment came in the form of delayed treatment for postpartum complications. When Williams reported experiencing shortness of breath- a symptom she was familiar with; she had previously had a blood clot in her lungs- her nurse suggested she must “be confused” by her pain medication, delaying treatment for multiple blood clots and a hemorrhage in her C-section wound. This is one reason, among many, why entities like Harvard Public Health have declared Black Maternal Mortality in the U.S. a Human Rights Crisis.
Of the 2,7000 birthing individuals who filled out the U.S. Giving Voice to Mothers survey (@birthplacelab), 1 in 6 (17.3%) reported mistreatment by providers. Of those who reported being ill-treated, 8.5% were scolded or shouted at by a provider, 7.8% had providers delay care, 5.5% reported violations of physical privacy, and 4.5% were threatened by the withholding of treatment or given treatment the patient did not consent to (Vedam et al.). Indigenous people experienced mistreatment at the highest rate, closely followed by Hispanic and Black people.
It is important to note that EVEN THOSE PROVIDERS who “consciously reject stereotypes” and “seek to be fair in their judgment of other people,” still demonstrate bias against people of color, which can emerge as mistreatment (Hall et al; Hinton).
Our health care providers, government, and communities need to address this mistreatment of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous individuals- now!
#healthdisparities #blackmaternalhealth #BIPOC #racism #Latinx #Indigenous
Caption and research by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship.
Source/Caption
Source:
Collins, J. W. Jr., Wu, S. Y. and David, R. J. (2002). Differing intergenerational birth weights among the descendants of US-born and foreign-born Whites and African Americans in Illinois. Am J Epidemiol. 155(3), 210‐216.
Caption:
This difference in intergenerational birth weights is evidence that it’s the harmful environmental exposure of racism directed towards people with brown or black skin that is to blame for the U.S. disparity in birth outcomes. Black infants in the U.S. are more likely to be low birth weight (<2,500 g) compared to White infants. Researchers have considered many factors such as the birthing person’s age, marital status, income, number of prior births, time between pregnancies, and cigarette smoking, but they have not been able to explain this birth weight disparity.
Researchers in Illinois analyzed birth weight patterns over three generations for US-born and foreign-born White mothers and Black mothers. US-born and foreign-born White mothers had significantly larger babies over time and fewer babies with low birth weight. US-born Black mothers had slightly larger babies over three generations, but the improvement was much smaller than that seen with the White mothers. Foreign-born Black mothers actually had babies with lower birth weights over time.
The researchers previously found that Black infants with foreign-born mothers had birth weights similar to White infants, while Black infants with US-born mothers were at a birth weight disadvantage. These intergenerational birth weight patterns suggest that foreign-born Black parents experience harmful exposures in the U.S. that leads to deterioration in birth weight.
We must preserve the health of foreign-born People of Color and support US-born People of Color in such a way as to counteract the harmful effects of racism!
#BlackDoulasMatter, #BlackBirthsMatter #BlackMidwives, #BlackMaternalCare, #BlackPerinatalCare
Source/Caption
Caption:
Sharing race (called racial concordance) impacts a number of important outcomes. For example, academic performance is higher when students share race with their teachers, and risk of incarceration is lower when defendants are paired with judges who share their race. Now, researchers are beginning to examine the effect of sharing race on health outcomes, specifically in childbirth, where racial disparities are extremely severe.
Greenwood et al. (2020) analyzed 1.8 million hospital births in Florida between 1992 and 2015 to see if sharing race had an effect on in-hospital newborn mortality. Overall, there was a clear racial disparity in the sample—the mortality rate was 289 per 100,000 births among White newborns and 784 per 100,000 births among Black newborns.
The researchers found that when Black newborns were cared for by White doctors, they experienced 430 more deaths per 100,000 births than White newborns. When they were cared for by Black doctors, the racial disparity was reduced to 173 deaths per 100,000 births above White newborns, a difference of 257 deaths per 100,000 births and a 58% reduction in the racial mortality difference.
So, Black newborns had higher mortality compared to White newborns under the care of both Black doctors and White doctors, but the disparity was halved when there was racial concordance. The mortality rate for White newborns was no different whether they were under the care of White doctors or Black doctors.
These results show that White doctors are under performing when it comes to caring for Black newborns. The main implications are that: 1) health care organizations should immediately invest in efforts to reduce implicit racial/ethnic bias among providers and explore its connection to institutional racism, 2) more research is necessary to identify the differences in physician practice behavior responsible for low- versus high-performance, and 3) initiatives are urgently needed to address the fact that the healthcare workforce in the U.S. is disproportionately white.
#blacknewborns #blackinfantmortality #infantmortality #birthjustice #blackbirthsmatter #racialmortality #implicitbias #institutionalracism
Source/Caption
Source:
Thomas, M. P., Ammann, G., Brazier, E., et al. (2017). Doula Services Within a Healthy Start Program: Increasing Access for an Underserved Population. Maternal and child health journal, 21(Suppl 1), 59–64. Click here.
Caption:
We need more programs like the By My Side program through Healthy Start Brooklyn! They hire doulas to provide support during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The program focuses mainly on supporting Black pregnant people, since this group has the highest infant death rate in the area.
Not only did program participants have significantly lower rates of preterm birth and low birth weight, they also expressed that doula support was highly valued (Thomas et al. 2017). For example, one of the participants described how their doula made a huge difference: “I would’ve had no one there; it was just me and her. If it wasn’t for her, maybe I wouldn’t even get through it, because she really helped a lot”.
Access to continuous labor support from a doula is especially vital for birthing People of Color. However, the unjust reality is that those who could most benefit from doula care frequently have the least access to it. To address the existing health disparities, it is imperative that continuous labor support be accessible to everyone and provided by a culturally diverse doula workforce.
Are you a Black doula? Please tag yourself in the comments so we can thank you!
#HealthyStartBrooklyn, #BlackBrooklynParents, #BlackBrooklynMamas, #BlackBrooklynMothers, #BlackBrooklynMoms, #BlackDoulasMatter, #BlackBirthsMatter
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Source:
Redgrave, Naida and Alleanna Harris. The Extraordinary Life of Mary Seacole. Puffin. 2019.
Caption:
If you were asked to name the most famous nurse in history, most people would say “Florence Nightingale.”
But what about Mary Seacole? A Black, Jamaican/Scottish doctoress, who cured illnesses with herbs and medicines? Who traveled alone as a woman in the 1800s? Who served during a cholera epidemic in Panama? Who paid her own way to the Crimean front after being told no more nurses were needed? Who brought her own medicines and food for soldiers? Why don’t we think about Mary Seacole as a famous nurse? [Short answer = white supremacy].
The long answer is that despite being well-loved during her time, Seacole was ignored by historians until the 1980’s (Redgrave & Harris). Now, her merits are questioned. Some suggest that Seacole’s hospital visits were merely “social” in nature (McDonald). Others say that Florence Nightingale published pamphlets and papers on nursing, while Seacole “only” published a memoir (Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands). Even more take umbrage with the fact that Mary supported herself as an entrepreneur. Making matters complex, Mary–as a multi-racial woman–showed colorism against those darker than her.
Tema Okun’s article “white supremacy culture” (dismantlingracism.org) can help unpack the white supremacist culture responsible for critiques of Mary Seacole’s legacy. Okun explains that part of white supremacist culture is “worshipping the written word,” aka “if it’s not in a memo, it doesn’t exist.” Just because Seacole did not publish extensively on her nursing practice does not mean it did not exist or was not impactful. White supremacist culture values either/or thinking–people are either good or bad. In other words, it would be “easier” for historians to glorify Seacole’s work as a care provider if she did not have a complex existence as a human. Rather than engaging with the tension, people ignore Mary Seacole altogether.
Mary Seacole was a Black woman. A nurse and doctoress. And her ways of healing and determination in the 1800s deserve to be remembered.
#blacklivesmatter #spotlight #whitesupremacistculture
Caption and research compiled by Tyler Jean Dukes (@birthandbooks), supported by her doctoral fellowship
Source/Caption
Source:
Collins, J.W. Jr., David, R.J., and Handler, A., et al. (2004). Very low birthweight in African American infants: the role of maternal exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination. Am J Public Health, 94(12), 2132‐2138. Click here.
Caption:
Racism causes both acute stress from specific incidents experiences of discrimination and chronic stress from a lifetime of exposure. There is evidence that a lifetime of exposure to racial discrimination is an independent risk factor for preterm birth. In other words, racism significantly contributes to preterm birth even when other risk factors for preterm birth are considered.
Researchers conducted a case-control study in Chicago, Illinois with 104 Black women who gave birth to very low birth weight (<1500 g) preterm (<37 weeks) infants and 208 Black women who gave birth to infants >2500 g at term. Trained Black interviewers gave participants a structured questionnaire in the hospital after birth. They collected data on the mothers’ age, education, marital status, birth history, prenatal care, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use. All of the participants were asked about their lifetime and pregnancy exposure to racial discrimination in 5 areas: at work, getting a job, at school, getting medical care, and getting service at a restaurant or store.
They found no link between Black mothers’ self-reported exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination during pregnancy and very low birth weight infants; however, Black mothers who reported lifetime exposure to racism in 3 or more areas had increased risk of having a very low birth weight infant.
These findings have important implications for maternity care! Lifetime exposure to racism impacts pregnancy outcomes. So, it is not enough to focus only on reducing racism in health care. We need to take actions to address racism everywhere in society in order to improve outcomes for Black infants.
Black midwives are an important part of the solution! Randomized trials have found that people who receive midwifery care were less likely to have preterm birth or to experience fetal loss or newborn death (Sandall et al. 2016).
#blacklivesmatter #JJWay #BlackPreTermBirths, #BlackMidwives, #BlackMaternalCare, #BlackPerinatalCare, #BlackBirthsMatter
Source/Caption
Posted on June 25, 2020
Source:
Giscombé, C. L. and Lobel, M. (2005). Explaining Disproportionately High Rates of Adverse Birth Outcomes Among African Americans: The Impact of Stress, Racism, and Related Factors in Pregnancy. Psychological Bulletin, 131(5), 662-683. Click here.
Caption:
I had the honor of speaking with Ihotu Ali @ihotuali , an EBB Pro Member and the co-founder of the Minneapolis Healing Justice Network (@mnhealingjustice), about their work on the front lines in Minneapolis. Ihotu suggested we make the research evidence on racism and maternal health more readily accessible to our audience. We greatly appreciate Ihotu’s suggestion and for the next few months, you can expect EBB to share especially poignant research findings about Black maternal health each Thursday. Please remember that *RACISM* and white supremacy are the cause of any racial disparities. And remember that there ARE known solutions… Black midwives, Black doulas, and Black nurses hold the key!! Black midwives such as Jennie Joseph (@iamjenniejoseph) and Uzazi Village (@uzazivillage) and Mamatoto Village (@mamatotovillage) and Jamaa Birth Village (@jamaabirthvillage), and San Antonio Nurse Midwife (@sanantonionursemidwife), among so many others, are living proof that we can eliminate and reduce disparities under their leadership. Read the research, but recognize the opportunities for justice and equity.
– Rebecca
Source/Caption
Posted on July 2, 2020
Source:
Gyamfi-Bannerman, C., Srinivas, S. K., Wright, J. D., et al. (2018). Postpartum hemorrhage outcomes and race. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 219(2), 185.e1–185.e10. Click here.
Caption:
We just spent 9 months reviewing the research on postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and the use of Pitocin in the third stage of labor (ebbirth.com/thirdstage). During this review, we learned that a high-quality study found that Black birthing people with PPH were five times more likely to die of PPH than White birthing people with PPH (Gyamfi-Bannerman et al., 2018).
It’s racial bias, or racism, that leads to a higher rate of severe illness or die from PPH. How? Racial bias in the assessment of PPH is a major concern, because poor recognition of PPH delays treatment. Racism in the lack of prompt treatment of PPH is also a huge problem (As @iamjenniejoseph told us in Evidence Based Birth Podcast Episode 136, some health care workers will say, “Oh, we don’t need to get the hemorrhage cart just yet. She’ll be fine”).
Other researchers have found that Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian women in the maternity care system were twice as likely as White women to report that a health care provider ignored them, refused to answer their request for help, or failed to respond to their request for help in a reasonable amount of time (Vedam et al. 2019).
Racism, not race, causes this shocking disparity in PPH-related deaths. It’s time for health care workers and health care institutions to address this racism head on. Black midwives and Black nurses and Black doctors know the solutions. Today, we encourage you to follow the work of Black maternal health advocates @timoriamcqueen and @4kira4moms. Support their work! #blacklivesmatter
Source/Caption
Posted on July 17, 2020
Source:
Josephs, L. L. and Brown, S. E. (2017). The JJ WAY®: Community-based Maternity Center Final Evaluation Report. Visionary Vanguard Group, Inc. Accessed July 2, 2020. Available online.
Caption:
Congratulations to Jennie Joseph (@iamjenniejoseph), Licensed Midwife, on receiving MEAC accreditation for the only Black-owned private midwifery training school in the U.S.!! Jennie is also the founder of the JJ Way® Maternity Care Model– one of the solutions to the extreme racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes. Black mothers who receive care the JJ Way® have a preterm birth rate similar to White mothers in Orange County and in the State of Florida. In other words, the racial disparity in preterm birth rate was eliminated! Also, the preterm birth rate among Latinx participants in the JJ Way® Model was less than half the rate in Orange County and the state of Florida (4% versus 9%)—also a huge improvement.
The innovative JJ Way® is the Midwives Model of Care© with key components for serving families who are disproportionately impacted by poor pregnancy outcomes. The Easy Access Clinic ensures everyone receives care—no one is turned away! Family members and support people are invited to participate in prenatal care. Clinicians develop relationships with clients and bond through mutual respect and education. Clients can choose to give birth in the hospital or out-of-hospital with a midwife, if they prefer. Each client carries a mini-health chart, which promotes self-reliance and ensures continuity of care.
We don’t need more research that finds more evidence of disparities without offering any new solutions. The JJ Way® works! Fund it, study it, grow it, and broaden its reach far and wide. To learn about The JJ Way®, visit https://savinglives.biz/the-jj-way #blacklivesmatter #JJWay
Abortion Research Resource Guide
We know that people are looking for accurate information on this highly charged topic. We do not shy away from hard topics, and we feel a great responsibility toward our community who trust us to provide quality information.
Transcript
Rebecca Dekker:
Hi, everyone who’s watching this video. My name is Dr. Rebecca Dekker and I am the founder and CEO at Evidence Based Birth. And I’m so glad to see you are here today, because our Research Team wanted to talk with you about our response to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in the U.S.
At the beginning of 2022, I began to think about the potential consequences of the Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade, and what impact it might have not only on our audience of birth workers and childbearing families, but also how can we support people and organizations working toward reproductive justice.
Ihotu Ali:
My name is Ihotu Ali, and I’m a Research Editor at EBB. For those of you who aren’t familiar with birth justice, birth justice is one component of reproductive justice. Reproductive Justice is defined by Sister Song, an incredible organization, as “The human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, to have children, to not have children, and to parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”
Reproductive justice recognizes that due to oppression and racism, people from marginalized groups face many hurdles to maintaining bodily autonomy, including a lack of access to contraception, a lack of safe and appropriate prenatal care, childbirth care, and postpartum care, a lack of access to abortion, and a lack of resources to raise their children in a safe community — as we’ve seen recently with the formula shortage in the midst of also having insufficient numbers of lactation support professionals, and we also see in communities of color that are subjected to tragic amounts of gun violence.
Rikki Jenkins:
My name is Rikki Jenkins, and I am the Instructor Coordinator at EBB. We know that this ruling will have a huge impact on many of our readers, Pro Members, Instructors, podcast listeners, and EBB Childbirth Class students.
That is because abortion bans can directly or indirectly impact anyone who can get pregnant, including women, girls, and queer, trans, and non-binary womb-holding people. We also know that abortion bans disproportionately impact people who are targeted by white supremacy culture and violence, including Black people, poor people, young people, people of the global majority, disabled people, and people from the LGBTQ2SIA+ community.
When abortion bans introduce a “criminal” aspect, certain medications and treatments become much more difficult to access. Because the treatment of abortion is the same as the treatment for spontaneous miscarriage or missed miscarriage, and because providers will be afraid of being arrested for assisting in abortions, this makes treatments harder to get and means that these laws can endanger anyone who can become pregnant.
We also know that fetal “personhood” laws, which are being passed into law by different states, may contribute to more regulation of our choices during pregnancy and labor/birth. There are many situations, such as VBAC, home birth, declining an induction, or declining medical interventions in labor, where under fetal personhood laws, pregnant people could be accused of endangering their fetus… when they are simply making informed choices about their care.
Rebecca Dekker:
I thought about it a lot, and what I ended up deciding to do, at the start of this year, was to invest resources and time into looking at the history and research on abortion. I did this for three reasons, 1) because I felt like my own education was not complete on these topics. Like some of you, I formed my opinions about abortion based on what I was taught as a child, then as a young adult I went on to have life experiences with friends and family that caused me to question my opinions, but I never received any formal education about this topic. So I felt like there was a huge gap in my own education, and I wanted to fill it. I am a lifelong learner, and I figured this is a big wake up call, that I need to learn as much as I can about this topic. 2) I wanted an internal document that our team could use to educate themselves, because many of them also didn’t have education on this topic. 3) I was talking with Dr. Sayida Peprah, of Black Women Birthing Justice, about this internal research, and she suggested that this research be made publicly available, so that birth workers of color who are working with organizations that advance reproductive justice, could use this research.
Tyler Jean Dukes:
My name is Tyler Jean Dukes, and I am a doctoral candidate who has done a fellowship with Dr. Dekker in the past. Dr. Dekker reached out to me to ask if I was interested in working on gathering research about abortion. Before we even got started on this project, we had an initial meeting where we talked about our personal biases and life experiences related to abortion, so that we could get our biases out in front of us and then try to do as unbiased a job as gathering information as possible. Together, we made a list of questions we wanted answered in the research, and then I began gathering the research and summarizing it. Dr. Dekker and I started meeting weekly so that we could go over all the information I gathered.
Rebecca Dekker:
We both learned so much together. I learned SO much. So much that has been kept hidden from me for so many years.
So, what we are doing now, is taking the research we’ve summarized, and put our summaries into a public Google folder for anyone to read or browse.
Tyler Jean Dukes:
The information is a work in progress, but we hope to include:
- The history of abortion, including ancient history and more modern history, and including a timeline of abortion from (blank) BCE to current times, which we have not seen published anywhere else
- Research on the basic demographics of people who seek abortions, the demographics of people who support abortion access, and the demographics of people who oppose abortion access
- Research on how abortion relates to reproductive justice for communities of color and for the LGBTQIA+ community
- Research on the reasons why and when people seek abortion, both in unwanted pregnancies and wanted or supported pregnancies
- Research on how abortion bans put people with spontaneous miscarriages at risk for wrongful accusations and criminal censure
- A list of websites where you can access resources, including maps, articles, grassroots campaigns, and more.
Erin Wilson:
My name is Erin Wilson, and I am a Research Editor at EBB. So, we couldn’t put the actual research studies in the folder, because we don’t own the copyright to share those studies, but Tyler has done a huge amount of work to summarize all the studies and include the best quotes from each source. We also link to and cite every reference we used. This is not a Signature Article, but it’s more like a public repository of summaries of all the research that Tyler has been examining this year on behalf of EBB. You are welcome to use this as a library of sorts, as you are trying to digest the news and figure out your reaction to the Supreme Court decision and how it may affect health care and pregnant families in your community. You can also use this evidence-based information in your own organizations, your own communities, free of charge.
Ihotu Ali:
We hope that this information will be particularly helpful for birth workers involved with reproductive justice organizations.
Anyone will be able to find this resource from the top of our Birth Justice resource page, which you can get to from the front of the EBB website, in the main menu. So just go to evidencebasedbirth.com, click on Birth Justice, then you’ll see a link to the Abortion Research Resource Guide
Ali Buchanan:
My name is Ali Buchanan, and I’m the Content Team Manager and Operations Coordinator at EBB. In the past, we’ve published on topics like antibiotics for Group B Strep, the Vitamin K shot for newborns, routine newborn Circumcision, and the COVID-19 vaccine. So, we are no stranger to controversial subjects! Abortion is another subject that can generate a LOT of heat from the public. So, I want to give you a little info about how we’ll be handling the response to our Abortion Research Resource Guide.
Unfortunately, due to the expected high volume of feedback on this topic, we will not respond to everyone who reaches out to us. Many questions people send us are already answered inside the resource guide; therefore, we encourage you to thoroughly search each sub-topic inside the Google Drive. In preparation for questions, we also composed a FAQ document about the Resource Guide that answers questions and comments that we anticipate.
So if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, we ask that you read that FAQ document FIRST before contacting us.
Ihotu Ali:
It can be difficult to work through this information, and some people may find that they have strong emotional responses even to this video! We encourage you to be aware of those emotions, and to separate your emotional response from the words and text inside the resources. If, while reading the resources, you feel your heart rate going up, or feel foggy, angry, intensely emotional, or unable to shake a past memory, it could be that you are experiencing a trigger. A trigger is a sign that you need to turn inward to process these emotions, and not outward.
Some tips for inward processing include journaling, going outside, meditating, praying, or talking with a trusted friend or counselor.
We also encourage anyone who wants to talk respectfully about this topic to listen to the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast, Episode 87 for more information on processing triggers and why some topics are so triggering. This episode is called “Communicating Respectfully about Difficult Topics,” and it’s taught by a guest speaker, Cristen Pascucci of Birth Monopoly.
Erin Wilson:
We know that this topic affects real people’s lives, and many of those people are our readers, members, students, and podcast listeners. It is our hope that we can help bring evidence-based information and compassionate discourse into an emotionally charged and triggering topic.
Rikki Jenkins:
If you have any concerns or questions about this resource, and you are a current Pro Member or Instructor, don’t hesitate to reach out, but remember that we are real people, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for shaming, personal attacks, shouting in all caps, announcing your departure, or any kind of trolling. On the other hand, if you want to further support our work, you are more than welcome to join our Pro Member community… there are scholarship opportunities available!
Rebecca Dekker:
We know that many people are feeling a wide range of emotions right now. From the bottom of my heart, we wish you peace, healing, and restorative rest as you navigate this topic and its implications for yourself, your beloved family and friends, and your community.
Birth Justice Organizations
On this page, you can find an ongoing list of both local and national birth justice organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We encourage you to follow and support these organizations in whatever way you can. If you wish to add a local birth justice organization to this list, please use the contact form below.
National
Black Mamas Matter Alliance | Visit
Black Mamas ATX | Visit
Melanated Midwives | Visit
National Association to Advance Black Birth | Visit
National Black Midwives Alliance | Visit
National Black Doulas Association™ | Visit
National Birth Equity Collaborative | Visit
Southern Birth Justice Network | Visit
Sister Song | Visit
Black Women Birthing Justice | Visit
The Melanated Mammary Atlas | Visit
By State
Arizona
Arizona: Parteras de Maiz | Visit
California
Delaware
Delaware: Black Mothers in Power | Visit
Hawaii
Hawai’i: Birth Professionals of Oahu | Visit
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Massachusetts: MA COVID-19 Perinatal Coalition | Visit
Minnesota
Minnesota: MN Healing Justice Network | Visit
New York
Nevada
Nevada: More Black Midwives | Visit
International
Mother Health International | Visit
Recommended Resources
Books
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Medical Bondage by Deirdre Cooper Owens
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth by
Waking up White by Debbie Irving
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts
Battling Over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Health-Care Crisis
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
Self-Awareness
Media Articles
Podcasts
Webinars & Online Courses
Parenting
- Dr. Traci Baxley at Social Justice Parenting: @socialjusticeparenting on Instagram
- Podcast interview with Dr. Traci Baxley on the Melanated Conversations podcast
- Prism Behavior podcast, Episodes 55 and 56, click here
- The Center for Racial Justice and Education has compiled a list of resources for talking with kids about race, racism, and racialized violence (includes many resources designed for kids of color)
- PBS has a comprehensive list of resources for parents talking with young children about racism
- NY Times list of books for children
Instagram Accounts
From Rebecca
A Personal Message From Rebecca
Reading the news these days, I continue to be horrified that the country I live in still brutalizes and murders people with Black bodies. My heart goes out to all of you who are suffering and grieving and reliving trauma right now. The fact that these things still happen and are covered up in the year 2020 is an absolute travesty.
Racism in the U.S. doesn’t just take the form of murder. It also significantly impacts maternal health outcomes (leading to 3-4 times higher death rates for Black mothers and babies), as well as creates racial injustices everywhere we live and work and educate our children.
Below are Evidence Based Birth® resources I wanted to share with you, as you continue anti-racism and birth justice work.
– Rebecca
My Responsibility As A White Woman
This is a personal video message about my responsibilities as a white woman. I recorded this message in the days following George Floyd’s murder. You can watch that message in the embedded video below, or on our Instagram Stories Highlights under ‘Responsibilities’ at our Instagram page @ebbirth.
Personal Message from Rebecca – May 2020 from Evidence Based Birth on Vimeo.
Chapter 8: Woke - from Babies Are Not Pizzas
Read Chapter 8 of Rebecca’s book, Babies Are Not Pizzas, which addresses the negative impact of racism on maternity care. This chapter falls in the middle of the book, and so the middle of Rebecca’s journey through becoming awakened to the many systemic and structural issues our healthcare system faces.
The EBB Podcasts, featuring BIPOC guests
Hear stories and experiences from BIPOC guests on the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast.
- EBB 138 – Healing after a Traumatic Birth with Bianca Marie Roberson
- EBB 136 – Solutions for the Crisis in American Maternity Care with Jennie Joseph
- EBB 135 – The Need for More Indigenous Birth Workers with Miranda Kelly
- EBB 132 – Teen Pregnancy Support, and a Surrogacy Story with Ambrosia Meikle
- EBB 130 – Home Birth in the Black Community with Isis Rose
- EBB 126 – Finding the right provider, and birth in the Dominican Republic with Leiko Hidaka
- EBB 124 – Health disparities, Advocacy, and the Coronavirus with Sabia Wade
- EBB 112 – How Evidence Based Birth®️ Changed Me as a Nurse with Jessica Hazboun
- EBB 108 – EBB Conference Series: Birth Workers of Color
- EBB 105 – Perspectives on the Evidence Based Birth Conference with Heather Thompson and Dr. Sayida Peprah
- EBB 103 – Identifying Areas for Social Justice with Danielle Jackson
- EBB 100 – Community Specific Birth Support with Ngozi Tibbs
- EBB 98 – Inside a Husband/Wife Childbirth Team with Tia and Dr. Wale Ajao
- EBB 95 – The State of Birth Work in NYC with Denise Bolds
- EBB 92 – Impacts of the Community Birth Worker Model with Aza Nedhari
- EBB 85 – The power of a well-planned birth – of twins!
- EBB 79 – Life of a Doula Part 1 – from cesarean to VBAC with Chanté Perryman
- EBB 74 – Hearing Black Moms’ Voices in the Birth World with Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell
- EBB 73 – Learn all about the hospitalist role with Dr. Nicole Rankins
- EBB 66 – Empowering Birth in Underserved Populations with CNM Olivia Favela-Gary
- EBB 65 – Navigating the Hospital Birth System with Midwife Afua Hassan
- EBB 57 – Connecting the birth community in Hawai’i with Courtney Carangian
- EBB 56 – Listening to Black Midwives: Ms. Charlotte Shilo-Goudeau
- EBB 53 – Reaching Underserved Populations with Education and Doula Support
- EBB 52 – What role should men play in birth?