The proof of historical oppression aimed at African American women compels public health nurses to challenge new conceptions of health for education, practice, and study. Nurses need to address the issue of maternal mortality, and this begins with acknowledging that structural racism contributes to poor results among females of color. In the United States, pregnancy complications are higher in Black women than in their White counterparts. Between 2011 and 2016, the mortality rate related to pregnancy for Black women was 42.4 per one hundred thousand live births in contrast to 13.0 per one hundred thousand for Whites. The fact that this situation persists shows the need for reframing the problem as a reproductive justice system since it affects even the wealthy. The main aim of this paper is to find the medical or non-medical interventions that can be implemented to decrease the rise in maternal fatalities during childbirth among Black women.
Concept Analysis Description: Origin of the Theory
It is important to understand the solution to reducing the disparity existing in maternal fatalities is by embracing reproductive justice. The concept analysis article by Burger et al. (2022) explains that the term means a social justice scheme that targets to expand reproductive freedom as a state of well-being and justice for girls and women. According to Burger et al. (2022), this is especially for those experiencing oppression. In Asian communities, reproductive justice means the complete mental, physical, political, spiritual, social, and economic well-being of females (Hayes et al., 2020). This will be attained when they have social, political, and economic power and resources to reach healthy decisions concerning their bodies, reproduction for themselves and others, and sexuality.
The phrase is believed to have emerged in the 1990s at a pro-choice conference in Chicago. Influential and well-known activists organized a social movement that focused on a human rights framework that consisted of universal coverage of comprehensive reproductive medical services and protection from discrimination (Hayes et al., 2020). At a moment when the group was exclusively focusing on abortion matters, they strictly pushed for the expansion of the conversation to include the right of Black women to have kids and parent them. When they placed themselves at the core of the discussion, the frame was moved to a broader plan that consisted of access to reproductive medical care, economic equity, immigration policies, bodily autonomy, and justice reform.
Reproductive oppression refers to the exploitation and control of bodies, labor of women, and the sexuality of females. The literature on the matter highlights a narrative of historical and contemporary oppression and abuse of African American girls and women in the U.S (Smietana et al., 2018). This dates back to the time when this gender was considered property that lacked any rights, and their reproduction was seen as a financial engine for slavery. Medical trial and exploitation of Black bodies was a common occurrence (Smietana et al., 2018). In the twentieth century, the concept of eugenics resulted in great sterilization campaigns of poverty-stricken women and others of color in the early days of that century. The alignment between eugenics and birth controls led to a scandal concerning whether the motive behind family planning was women’s empowerment or controlling the population.
One persistent, as well as the insidious type of populace control, extends to the structures around mass incarceration. The latter oppresses bodily autonomy via confinement during the years of childbearing, lack of proper reproductive medical care, loss of parental rights, and harmful childbirth experiences (Smietana et al., 2018). Moreover, the traumatic separation of a child and its mother has an intergenerational impact on communities and families. Health discrepancies affecting expectant mothers comprise inadequate reproductive and prenatal care, unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, exposure to diseases, and shackling at birth resulting in complications (Smietana et al., 2018). Healthcare quality is a second issue associated with reproductive justice. The underlying negative stereotypes of African American women throughout the entire history of the country have significantly affected their care quality of them. The injustices they face due to bias include wrong diagnosis, missed care, and insufficient pain control.
Limited access to reproductive care at the policy level disproportionately impacts Black females. Criticisms of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 are threats to continue restricting the availability of contraceptives, screening for cancer, and many other reproductive medical services (Smietana et al., 2018). A reproductive justice scheme provides a lens via which to reframe reproductive medical discrepancies, for example, maternal mortality, by considering the effect of historical abuses and inequitable guidelines. Reproductive justice has applications for diverse and broad communities and could dictate public health nurses to better support African American women.
Relevance of the Concept Analysis to the POI
The concept analysis is aimed at advancing the applications of reproductive justice in nursing practice, research, and advocacy. A discussion of the issue within the nursing field can broaden how reproductive health for African American women is perceived (Smietana et al., 2018). It can result in opening a path to novel ways of advocacy as well as action. The nurses can utilize peer-reviewed proof to act as activists for groups unfairly burdened by maternal mortality and morbidity.
Transferability of the Concept Analysis to Other POI
The concept analysis in this paper can be transferred to another phenomenon of interest by expanding its application to the social status of girls and women in the Black community. For instance, it is known that pregnant women of color receive less attention and care in hospitals than their white counterparts (Burger et al., 2022). However, although the oppression is majorly focused on Black women in general, there are cases of income status affecting the quality of care one receives (Smietana et al., 2018). For example, on the one hand, wealthier individuals will visit well-established hospitals with adequate personnel ready to attend to patients. On the other hand, a low-income earner is forced to seek medical services from a public hospital that is plagued with an issue such as overworked nurses (Smietana et al., 2018). It is obvious that the first individual has a better chance of delivering without complications.
Critical Appraisal of Concept Analysis
The main concept is reproductive justice, which has been defined as the social justice scheme that targets to expand freedom as a condition of well-being and justice for females. The term originated in the 90s and was coined by twelve women at a conference (Burger et al., 2022). Renowned activists arranged a social gathering that became a movement later to discuss the human rights framework consisting of universal coverage of all-inclusive reproductive health services and safety from discrimination (Cavanagh et al., 2022). Nurses in the public health field are placed ideally to advocate for the ideology for females throughout the preconception period, expectancy, birth, and postpartum.
Nurses in the area utilize peer-reviewed proof to advocate for groups unfairly burdened by both maternal mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, in spite of the many years of recognition of the significance of the concept in the social sciences, there has been limited assessment or application in the nursing field (Donofrio, 2018). Discussing the matter can ensure broadening of how Black women’s health is perceived and lead to novel ways of advocacy as well as action.
Antecedents
The issue of maternal fatalities has existed even before the rights movements of the 1900s. For a long time dating back to slavery, women of color were perceived as property without rights. This led to activities such as experimenting medically on their bodies (Donofrio, 2018). For example, some women were subjected to surgery in the absence of anesthesia. After abolition of the activity, the country still recorded a higher mortality rate for Black women than Whites. The antecedents may be used to predict the outcomes of the phenomenon of interest by relating the issue to reproductive justice. History shows that if proper care is offered to a pregnant woman, it can ensure that she does not experience any complications (Donofrio, 2018). It is such information that is not practiced in the nursing field especially for Black women thus, resulting into more maternal deaths.
Attributes
One attribute of the concept is that within it exists an individual embodiment which acts as a knowledge source. The advocates describe their identity as well as experience as inspiration. Another is collective knowledge which is explained as inclusive of the oppression experiences encountered by marginalized females together (Kim et al., 2019). Research highlights that the diverse voices of victims have been silent in the reproductive rights movement (Kim et al., 2019). It claims that the concept arose from African American women’s encounters based on conquered information. The two attributes are related to the phenomenon of interest as it offers a path for finding the intervention needed which is embracing reproductive justice by nurses through practice, research, and advocacy.
Consequences
One consequence of the concept is the quality of healthcare. The basic negative assumptions of African American females throughout entire history have greatly affected the care quality of these women (Kim et al., 2019). The injustices encountered by them due to provider bias comprise incorrect diagnosis, missed care as well as inadequate proper pain control. All of these have led to the mistrust of healthcare officials amongst women of color (Kim et al., 2019). Due to the concept analysis, the effect will be a decrease in the rise of maternal fatalities during child birth.
Conclusion
The paper has found that the intervention needed to decrease the rise in maternal fatalities during childbirth among Black women is by embracing reproductive justice through practice, research and advocacy. It has been explained that nurses are in an ideal position to advocate for the matter on behalf of females in either preconception, expectancy, birth, or postpartum period. The concept of reproductive justice can be defined as a social justice scheme whose aim is to expand reproductive freedom as a state of wellness and fairness for females, especially the victims of oppression. In reproductive health, the term means exploitation and possessing full control of bodies, labor of women, and sexuality of girls and women. It is something that dates back to a time when the female gender was seen as property that did not have any rights. The reproducing was perceived as a fiscal engine for slavery. During that era, the medical trial could be conducted on African American women’s bodies without their consent. The development of this theory is to enable women from marginal communities to gain back their freedom.
References
Burger, K., Evans‐Agnew, R., & Johnson, S. (2022). Reproductive justice and black lives: A concept analysis for public health nursing. Public Health Nursing, 39(1), 238-250. Web.
Cavanagh, A., Shamsheri, T., Shen, K., Gaber, J., Liauw, J., Vanstone, M., & Kouyoumdjian, F. (2022). Lived experiences of pregnancy and prison through a reproductive justice lens: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Social Science & Medicine, 11. Web.
Donofrio, G. (2018). Exploring the role of lawyers in supporting the reproductive justice movement. NYU Review of Law & Social Change, 42, 221-234. Web.
Hayes, C. M., Sufrin, C., & Perritt, J. B. (2020). Reproductive justice disrupted: Mass incarceration as a driver of reproductive oppression. American Journal of Public health, 110(S1), 21-24. Web.
Kim, S., Young, N., & Lee, Y. (2019). The role of reproductive justice movements in challenging South Korea’s abortion ban. Health and Human Rights, 21(2), 97-107. Web.
Smietana, M., Thompson, C., & Twine, F. W. (2018). Making and breaking families – reading queer reproductions, stratified reproduction and reproductive justice together. Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, 7, 112–130. Web.