Black Women Are Still Dying In Childbirth As Legislation Lags

Written by Vernetta Freeney

When my sister was pregnant with her second child, she had a challenging pregnancy and birth. I remember her screaming as I ran to my bathroom, where the floor was covered in blood even though my nephew wasn’t due for another month. I rushed her to the hospital and immediately met resistance. We were alone, and either of us knew what to do.  I kept telling the doctor and nurses that everything had better turn out alright. My sister was rushed off for an emergency C-section, and thankfully, my nephew was born healthy. Even the doctor said this was a miracle. But, it was no miracle. Had I not been present to advocate for her health in real-time, our family could have faced a very different outcome that night. 

As I researched maternal morbidity, it was not surprising how other developed nations use midwives to assist with pregnancy and birth. This accounts for stable maternal and infant health. In Canada, women choose between a midwife or a doctor. The government covers the midwife in some cases. Midwives are regulated by the Canadian government, giving them strict guidelines to follow and classifying birth workers as healthcare providers. Mothers with a low-risk pregnancy usually work with midwives. If there are issues with the birth, the midwife consults with specialists or other healthcare workers to provide consistent care. 

Pregnancy can be a life-threatening illness for some Black mothers - especially those who live without medical insurance. Ted Cruz, the Junior Senator from Texas, wrote this baseless tweet about a subject he knows nothing about - women’s bodies. To push the pro-birth, anti-abortion agenda, he neglected to consider medical, social, and economic resources for the mothers concerned. Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children and mothers in the country, with twenty-nine percent of adults classified as uninsured. These folks are often relegated to understaffed, under-resourced hospitals that ignore their instinctual concerns for how they feel. Black mothers are silently dying because they have no one to advocate on their behalf, especially those under anesthesia.

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Vernetta R. Freeney is an award-winning blogger who blogs about her faith journey and fighting injustice. You can check her out where she lives online at http://vernettarfreeney.com/.