One systemic injustice that is present in America today and is somewhat shocking to me still is the disproportionate rate at which black mothers die during childbirth. Infant mortality is a big problem in inner city populations, with black women being three times more likely to die from a pregnancy related cause than white women. In a nation as civilized and as advanced in medicine as America, this is especially concerning. Nations that are comparable to America in these areas have much lower rates of maternal deaths and infant mortality. This can be seen in the infographic below.
Some factors contributing to this injustice include systemic racism, poverty, educational inequities, and lack of access to healthcare. Being a nutrition major, I am very adamant that a greater effort needs to be taken to educate women regarding the importance of essential vitamins and their role in fetal development and maternal health. Lack of access to education affects women who may not know the right amounts of vitamins and beneficial foods. Aside from pregnancy related issues, black Americans have unequal access to healthcare due to other systemic issues. Some of these issues are shown below.
Those without access to healthcare may not be able to afford to keep up with ultrasound appointments and management of a high risk pregnancy. Prior to pregnancy, black mothers may have preexisting conditions that were not able to be managed well, or even go undetectable until pregnancy. This heightens the risk of their pregnancy and leads to more complications.
The relevancy of this injustice is particularly apparent when we take into account maternal fatality rates of other developed nations. In a study completed by the American Journal of Managed Care, it is discussed how out of eleven developed nations, the United States has the highest mortality rate. While the United States has some of the best doctors and medical technology, I believe that the quality of care and the amount of people we are able to reach needs to be prioritized and reevaluated.
This injustice is perpetuated by the little evidence available regarding the issue. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America describes how until recently, there has been little evidence pertaining to how gender and race affects health outcomes. This can be related to the concept of a “single story,” and how those who are writing scientific literature and performing research studies are not concerned with interests other than their own. Because black mothers are a minority, attention has not been brought to this issue soon enough. If this disparity was realized and addressed earlier, biases could have been discovered sooner, and lives would have been saved.
Sources:
https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-ranks-worst-in-maternal-care-mortality-compared-with-10-other-developed-nationshttps://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.htmlhttps://www.pnas.org/content/117/35/21194