Maternal health refers to women’s wellbeing when pregnant, during childbirth, and postpartum. Black women in most parts of the world undergo unacceptable poor maternal health results, including disproportionately high death rates (Davis, 2020, p. 56). Health and societal system factors play a significant role in black women’s high maternal mortality rates and poor health outcomes. As a result, these women of color have barriers to receiving competent healthcare services and face racial discrimination. Davis (2020, p. 58) argues that factors such as sexism and racism adversely affect black women’s healthcare outcomes and medical care use. For instance, these women of color are likely to be uninsured, experience significant financial issues with healthcare, and are unlikely to access prenatal care compared to white women. At the same time, black women have high chronic health issues and preventable illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. As a result, these health conditions adversely affect infant and maternal healthcare results when these women choose to become pregnant (Davis, 2020, p. 59). However, women of color deserve healthy and safe pregnancies and childbirth. Therefore, what factors affect black maternal health, and what systematic changes should be implemented to ensure it is improved globally?
There is a significant connection between black maternal health and women in social topics. For instance, some communities discriminate against women because of gender, color, physical ability, class, and ethnicity. Davis (2020, p. 59) explains that other individuals believe that men should be more powerful than women; therefore, they disregard ideas such as women’s leadership. Some people believe that women’s primary responsibility is taking care of the home and giving birth. These perceptions adversely affect women, leading to mental health illnesses (Davis, 2020, p. 60). Therefore, it is crucial to change people’s perspectives and views about women in society. This can be achieved by encouraging the community to view women positively and accommodate them in society.
The black maternal topic has attracted many people’s attention globally. As a result, it is crucial to determine why the number of women of color in maternal and childbirth deaths is increasing in the world. It is also essential to discover the causes of more maternal complications in black women than in white individuals. This topic will help individuals identify why healthcare organizations serving women of color have lower-quality maternity care. People should understand the challenges that black women experience to have reproductive care that meets their needs. This care is essential because it assists women in planning their families and enhances women’s and children’s healthcare outcomes.
Intersectionality involves acknowledging and understanding that every person experiences oppression and discrimination differently. Intersectionality can be used in black maternal health topics to determine and identify its causes, such as race, physical ability, and sexual orientation. These factors have adversely affected women of color globally, leading to income inequality. For example, for every dollar paid to a non-Hispanic white man, a black woman gets sixty-three cents. Corresponding to Crear-Perry et al. (2021, p. 230), the lost wages push women of color to choose between necessities such as healthcare, food, and housing because they have less money to support their livelihood. Additionally, most individuals believe that black women are strong and can handle strenuous activities than white women. Understanding the different factors contributing to black maternal health will enable individuals to develop strategies that tackle every issue for women of color.
Healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the community have a vital role in enhancing black women’s maternal health. Expansion and maintenance of health care coverage throughout women of color’s lifespan, including preventive health care access, for instance, birth control, is crucial. Only 87% of reproductive-age black females have health insurance (Crear-Perry et al., 2021, p. 233). In addition, women of color should receive high-quality, safe, culturally competent, and respectful healthcare. Healthcare and public policies should prioritize offering patient-centered care to satisfy black women’s individualized needs. Social determinants, including where people work, play, and live, should be addressed (Davis, 2020, p. 64). This can be achieved through policies that build wealth, raise incomes, and improve education. Additionally, countries should increase affordable food and health availability and enhance access to safe, clean, and affordable housing.
Black women should be offered paid leave to care for themselves and their children. Women of color need access to community healthcare providers because they provide maternal, reproductive, and primary healthcare services to them (Davis, 2020, p. 64). The absence of these professionals means that these women would not access vital healthcare services. More robust protection policies for expectant women of color should be expanded. This will ensure that employers have reasonable accommodations for pregnant women.
In summary, black women deserve healthy and safe pregnancies and childbirth. Systematic adjustments starting with the healthcare system, enhance healthcare access and provide healthier work and live places for women of color. Improving black maternal healthcare outcomes will enable women of color to achieve optimal wellbeing and health throughout their life. As a result, these individuals can have different choices, such as when and how to become parents.
My proposed Boolean Search String in this topic might be “problems experienced by black women before, during and after childbirth” or “solutions to the challenges experienced by women of color when seeking for maternal health care.”
Reference
Crear-Perry, J., Correa-de-Araujo, R., Lewis Johnson, T., McLemore, M. R., Neilson, E., & Wallace, M. (2021). Social and structural determinants of health inequities in maternal health. Journal of Women’s Health, 30(2), 230-235. Web.
Davis, D. A. (2020). Reproducing while Black: The crisis of Black maternal health, obstetric racism and assisted reproductive technology. Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, 11, 56-64. Web.