[ad_1]
Dying to give birth: this is what happens in hospital rooms across America. Too many women die after childbirth, but this happens more often to black mothers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, black women are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than any other race.
"The last thing I told him was that I liked him".
During Kira Johnson's pregnancy, she was in good health. (Photo: Courtesy of the family)
For Kira Johnson, a black mother, her life ended less than 12 hours after the birth of her second child.
All signs indicated a healthy birth, said her husband, Charles Johnson. She has never missed an ANC visit and has received excellent reports every time. She gave birth to a healthy boy.
Then Charles made a troubling discovery: blood in Kira's catheter.
After waiting for hours, said Charles, Kira was brought back for an internal examination. He never saw her alive again.
She died of bleeding.
"When they told me that his heart had stopped, it was all that I heard," said Charles Johnson.
Kira's mother-in-law, Glenda Hatchett, said their family never thought it could have happened.
"What I do know is that I entered this hospital without ever imagining that she would not be coming home," Hatchett said. "And I did not know that it was such a horrible crisis in America."
& # 39; Do you think it was because she was black? & # 39;
Charles Johnson said that he was often asked if he thought that race was a determining factor in his wife's death.
"Here is how I answer this question: the simple fact of having to ask this question is a problem."
A report from the CDC Foundation revealed that the rate of women dying from childbirth is increasing in the United States, while it is declining in other countries around the world.
The CDC defines a pregnancy-related death as a woman who has died as a result of complications aggravated by pregnancy or its management, but not by accidental or accidental causes. Death can occur during pregnancy or in the year following delivery.
There are 44 black women out of 13 white women who die during pregnancy or in the year following childbirth. Most of these deaths are preventable.
"The experience of the black race in America is so different from whites that it has health implications," said Dr. William Callaghan, head of the CDC maternal and child health directorate.
"In the United States, black women are three to four times more likely to die than white women, and the only difference is the color of the skin."
In states such as Georgia, which has the highest number of deaths related to maternal mortality in the country, 755 women died as a result of a pregnancy-related pregnancy from 1999 to 2016; 413 of them were black.
Black women die at higher rates regardless of their education, salary or pre-existing conditions. Dorothy Roberts, director of the Penn Program on Race, Science and Society, believes that the reason for racial disparity is directly related to racism.
"You know that some people hear these statistics and say," There is something wrong with black women – it must be a gene that is causing the blacks cause, "Roberts said. However, she said that it had nothing to do with genetics.
"All this is racism. There are different types of racism, "Roberts said. "They go to all their prenatal appointments. They are in good condition when they arrive in the delivery room and then experience racial discrimination from health professionals. "
Several studies compare the medical treatment of black patients to other races. A 2015 study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that black children received fewer pain medications when they were treated for the same problem.
Another study published in the AMA Journal of Ethics found that the treatment of pain was strongly influenced by race and ethnicity, as well as the social and economic conditions in which people work and live.
Roberts believes that these studies shed light on the racial stereotypes of doctors who influence the treatment of black patients.
"This idea that blacks have different body types from those of other human beings has continued until now in medical practice," she said.
"We do not think we practice medicine this way"
Physicians swear to treat all patients on an equal footing and most will defend their impartial care. Many health professionals disagree with the statement that race has a negative impact on care.
"We have a huge population of African-American patients and I have no doubt that we are giving them exactly the same care as anyone else," said Dr. Sujatha Reddy, a health specialist from the United States. women. "for my partners, it was almost hurtful because we do not think we practice medicine this way. "
Reddy noted several genetic differences taught in medical schools to help doctors better care for patients of a specific race.
"I am Indian, we are prone to cardiovascular disease," said Reddy. "If I recommend a colonoscopy to an African-American at 45, does that make me racist I do not think so it's actually better health care … if you know that in this race, these things are more common … "
She said that other medical conditions having nothing to do with racism can contribute to the risks associated with pregnancy.
"I think seeing all the patients is heavier. Overweight and obesity lead to other medical complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, which increase the risk of complications during delivery and the risk of postpartum complications, "said Reddy.
For thousands of women, these problems have lifelong consequences. But they must not be mortal.
►PREVIOUS CHAPTER: She went to the hospital to have her baby. Now, her husband is raising two children alone
►NEXT CHAPTER: & # 39; A river of blood: & # 39; A mother describes her imminent death experience in the delivery room
© 2018 WXIA
[ad_2]
Source link
