It’s 5:00 AM and you're in immense pain, your legs are swollen and your stomach is throbbing. You wake up your husband and call an ambulance. They take you to the hospital where a doctor comes to see you. Your husband thinks the baby is coming but you can’t help but feel that something isn’t right. Your doctor takes a look at you and after a few minutes of relief the doctor says that there’s nothing wrong and that you should go home. Yet you still feel like something is not right so you call the obstetrician you have been seeing your whole pregnancy who rushes to you immediately only to find you slipping in and out of conciseness in the hospital waiting room. She speaks with her colleagues and tells them you need an emergency surgery. After a complete examination they find that you have serious internal bleeding. During surgery you remember your family in the waiting room wanting you to go into surgery yelling STAY WITH US PLEASE. The doctors are trying to keep you conscious but you're fading. As you slip away you remember the look into the doctor's eyes and wonder if things would be different if your skin wasn’t dark. You thankfully wake up with the family by your side telling you “They said that if the obstetrician hadn’t come you wouldn’t have made it.”

This is sadly a story that many women of color around the world are forced to relate to. Women of color are discriminated against in the medical field all because of the amount of melanin in their skin and the stereotypes that come along with it. There are many doctors and obstetricians all over the world and sadly, some of them have some racist belief or bias that disproportionately affects women of color. These doctors end up ignoring the needs and concerns of women of color by either not doing the correct checks or just outright ignoring them. These doctors are the reason that many women of color's maternal death rate continues to skyrocket. This belief that doctors have has entered their work life and is hurting their patients. When women of color give birth there is a higher risk of death because of the racist and biased doctors they may encounter. This is enough to scare anyone and isn’t fair because the color of your skin should not play a role in the treatment you receive yet this happens nearly everyday. There are many ways to fix this problem but first we have to all acknowledge the problem that this poses. 

In such a “well-developed” country our maternal mortality rates should not be as high as they are. In the article "Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports'' reporters Selena Simmons-Duffin and Carmel Wroth explain “84% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. were preventable.” Which makes you wonder what we're doing wrong and how we can fix it after more research you start to realize that many more women of color die than  white woman “ According to recent GAO analysis that examined maternal deaths during pregnancy or within 42 days of pregnancy, Black women had the highest maternal mortality rates across racial and ethnic groups during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.” When it comes to women of color the maternal period has gotten riskier and riskier and it isn’t because of increasing health issues, it is simply due to the amount of melanin in their skin and the racist doctors who are biased towards them. Racism in the medical field has been a problem for years and it is time to bring it to an end. Many women of color are experiencing medical issues during and after pregnancy due to racism and bias in hospitals. To help solve this issue the government should work to increase funding for anti-racist and bias education, with the hope that we will decrease the maternal mortality rates for women of color that have recently spiked.

In medical history women of color have often been treated with contempt and disrespect not just in normal health care but during the maternal period too. All because of the color of their skin and the clear racism from obstetricians.  In article “Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them” authors Latoya Hill, Samantha Artiga, and Usha Ranji communicate “The pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black women between ages 30 to 34 widens to over four times higher than the rate for White women (48.6 vs. 11.3 per 100,000), while the rate for Asian women in the same age group is nearly four times as high as the rate for White women (41.2 per 100,000).” Women of color are at much more risk than white women because of the clear racism and bias the doctors have when treating their patients. Women of color are giving birth all over the world and to have doctors being negligent and risking their health just because of the color of their skin is ignorant and needs to be fixed. Doctors are the people that you're supposed to be able to trust with you and your baby’s health so when they aren’t doing their job because of their own racist beliefs people don’t get the right care and kindness they deserve. In an article from the CDC they explain “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. Social determinants of health prevent many people from racial and ethnic minority groups from having fair opportunities for economic, physical, and emotional health.” In other words women of color are at a disadvantage from all angles so for them to not even be able to trust their doctors we have to find a solution.

Women of color dying in childbirth has spiked in recent years and with these deaths comes children without mothers, losing these lives can take a toll on everyone around them, including the growing fear of “What if I’m next”. Many women of color around the world plan to give birth or have children at some point in their lives and when that time comes they need all the help and support available yet they end up with racist and biased doctors who don’t look after their overall well being. These doctors are negligent and ignore the basic safety of their patients. How long are women going to have to put up with the prejudice they receive from their doctors? Women like Kodi Washington and Tara Ervin explained how doctors failed them and their family members in the article “I Don’t Want to Die’: Fighting Maternal Mortality Among Black Women” Ervin speaks on what her sister went through after birth leading up to her death saying “the doctors said was likely a bladder infection. She was sent home with antibiotics but returned less than 48 hours later in worse shape, vomiting profusely.” This is sadly not the first time this has happened and won’t be the last many years later Kodi Washington “experienced intense swelling in her feet after the birth of her second child The doctors told her that it was normal and should subside in 10 days, and that she should drink water, elevate her feet, and avoid fried food. [Taking her doula’s advice] Ms. Washington was admitted [to the hospital] with postpartum preeclampsia and dangerously high blood pressure and spent three days in treatment.” Ms. Washington thankfully lived and was able to get better but she will never forget the risk and danger she experienced after giving birth due to racist doctors.

Women of color are more likely to die in childbirth and have pregnancy related health issues than white women and the risks have grown in recent years. There are many women who give birth everyday many of them are black women yet everyday the risks for women of color are getting higher. According to Andis Robeznieks from the AMA or the American Medical Association It has gotten so bad that even “The AMA acknowledges that, although the primary drivers of racial health inequity are systemic and structural racism, racism and unconscious bias within medical research and health care delivery have caused and continue to cause harm to marginalized communities.” Seeing as though this is a clear problem we should be working to reduce the impact yet there has been very little change. When we look at the facts we see that women of color are much more likely to die in childbirth and it isn’t because of the scientific differences it is the difference in health care and the way women of color are unfairly treated by their doctors. “Black women were three to four times more likely than white women to die from a pregnancy-related cause, while American Indian and Alaska Native women were 2.5 times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death.” It has been shown that women from minority backgrounds are more likely to die during or after childbirth; these heightened risks need to be substantially lowered. Due to the recent baby boom the risks have only gotten higher. We have to call on the government to work with doctors and researchers to lower the risks for women of color during and after childbirth no matter the source of the issue.

Medical professionals who have been educated about racism and bias in the medical field have shown growth and more open mindedness after taking an anti-racism and bias course. A group of medical students documented their findings after taking a course that educated them about racism and bias in the medical field, this course was said to be effective and produced great results. In a study by students from University of Washington School of Medicine and School of Public Health, they found that “This simple and reproducible program improved awareness and confidence to advocate against racism in the medical field and resulted in a change in opinion regarding race-based medical practice.”  With the amount of doctors in this world I'm sure many of them would benefit from this course. If the government works to implement this training I'm sure we would see a substantial decrease in racially motivated negligence in the maternal field. When looking at the results from this data we see that there were already biased thoughts in the heads of these young medical students that without this training would continue to grow and affect their future patients. Imagine the effect this would have on the doctors who are already working with patients everyday. “The majority of students had no previous education about racism in medicine. From pre- to post-programme, there was a significant change in students’ perceived definition of race from genetic, biological, geographical, and cultural factors.” which makes me wonder just how many doctors who already treat people everyday know about racism in medicine and in the maternal field.

Implicit bias thought is not as well known as racism but still plays a huge role in why women of color are treated with less respect than white women. Implicit bias is when you are biased without knowing or when you have a belief about someone because of their race, gender, etc. Implicit bias is something that can be identified and corrected which is why doctors being trained to recognise it is so important. Being biased when treating your patients is not acceptable because you unconsciously treat one patient better than the other when they deserve equal treatment. According to article "How Implicit Bias Contributes to Racial Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States" by Zenobia Bryant and Bani Saluja “many health care providers struggle to acknowledge the impact of personal implicit bias on how they care for their patients.” which makes the need for these anti bias courses even more obvious. We need to do all we can to correct this thinking as soon as it starts or as soon as possible. It is easy to see when a doctor is biased towards you or someone you know but most of the time they themselves can’t tell. In the article "What Is Implicit Bias, How Does It Affect Healthcare?" by author Sara Heath she explains “Through the review, the team was able to conclude at least moderate implicit bias in most medical providers. The Implicit Association Test, which measures implicit bias, detected about equal bias across Black, Latinx, and dark-skinned patients.” showing us that this is a problem that reaches all parts of medicine. We should find ways to help doctors and obstetricians realize their bias and end it. 

What do we need to do to fix this? The shocking issue of women dying is a problem that needs to be solved.  There are many things that we can do as citizens and things that the government can do. Women of color are dying because of racist and biased doctors. We need to work with those doctors and up incoming medical officials so that they are more educated in racial issues and can identify them in not just others but also themselves. But that isn’t the only solution, there are many things that we can do like encourage more women of color to become obstetricians so there is more diversity in the work force and patients see themselves and can relate to their doctors. The government can also have people in the hospital who monitor the doctors and keep a lookout on racist or biased behavior. This isn’t a problem without a solution, we just have to make the solutions happen. 

Works Cited 

Bryant , Zenobia, and Bani Saluja. “How Implicit Bias Contributes to Racial Disparities in Maternal ...” Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, 2 Feb. 2021, www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jwh.2020.8874.

Green, Erica L. “‘I Don’t Want to Die’: Fighting Maternal Mortality among Black Women.” The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/us/doula-black-women.html.

Latoya Hill  Follow @hill_latoya on Twitter, Samantha Artiga Follow @SArtiga2 on Twitter, and Nov 2022. “Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them.” KFF, 14 Mar. 2023, www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/.

logoBookmark, Andis RobeznieksSenior News Writer.cls-1{fill:none;}.cls-2{fill:#1da1f2;}Twitter. “Examining the Black U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate and How to Cut It.” American Medical Association, 24 May 2021, www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/examining-black-us-maternal-mortality-rate-and-how-cut-it.

Lynn, Thérése M, et al. “The Impact of a Student-Led Anti-Racism Programme on Medical Students’ Perceptions and Awareness of Racial Bias in Medicine and Confidence to Advocate against Racism.” Medical Education Online, Dec. 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9930825/.

PatientEngagementHIT, Sara Heath. “What Is Implicit Bias, How Does It Affect Healthcare?” PatientEngagementHIT, 20 Oct. 2020, patientengagementhit.com/news/what-is-implicit-bias-how-does-it-affect-healthcare.

Simmons-Duffin, Selena, and Carmel Wroth. “Maternal Deaths in the U.S. Spiked in 2021, CDC Reports.” NPR, 16 Mar. 2023, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/16/1163786037/maternal-deaths-in-the-u-s-spiked-in-2021-cdc-reports#:~:text=The%20maternal%20death%20rate%20among,the%20rate%20for%20White%20women.

“Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 Apr. 2023, www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html.