For some unfortunate pregnant mothers-to-be, the pregnancy and birth are not the Hallmark-worthy, wonderful experiences they had hoped for. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that annually, almost 700 mothers in the United States die either while birthing their babies or shortly after giving birth. Fifty-thousand others suffer severe injuries that can leave irreversible injuries that make future pregnancies or healthy births impossible.
If you are a pregnant Black woman, however, the statistics are even worse. You have three-and-a-half times the rate of maternal mortality than White pregnant women.
This is a high-risk nation for birth injuries
Would you be surprised to hear that to other first-world nations, when it comes to maternal and fetal safety in developed countries, ours is considered by investigators commissioned by USA Today to be “the most dangerous place” to give birth. Here in the United States, there are 26 mothers who die in childbirth for every 100,000 babies born. Compare that sobering statistic to the seven in Canada, nine in the United Kingdom and four in Denmark, Sweden and Italy.
Physician bias, and institutional racism play role in deaths
Why more Black women die giving birth than White women in our country is a complex question with no single, clear answer. Poverty plays a role, as does lack of health care. But affluent, educated Black women who receive medical care still suffer higher mortality rates.
One cannot discount the inherent racial and other biases that affect physicians’ decisions for their patients. Even when medical providers are unconsciously biased, they could fail to prioritize a patient’s complaints. Insidious, undiagnosed conditions like preeclampsia can present as less serious conditions but then rapidly prove fatal – often to both mother and infant.
Did a doctor’s biases contribute to fetal or maternal death?
If you believe that they did, learning all you can about your rights to seek redress against the liable party through the Nevada civil court system can help you find closure.
