HARRISBURG (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania House Democrats gathered during this year’s Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17) to address the racial disparities women experience in childbirth and how to improve outcomes.
Delaware County state Rep. Gina H. Curry gathered with other legislators, including members of the Women’s Health Caucus and the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, to look at issues relating to the childbearing experience at the intersection of race and gender.
That intersection is “a space where mental and physical complications are less likely identified and a place where countless stories are kept and never shared,” said Curry.
Black maternal mortality is of particular concern to her.
“The research shows that we are losing the fight, ultimately, because of the racial disparities that continue to haunt the very experience that is supposed to bring joy and autonomy,” Curry said.
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The disparities are shocking, said Pennsylvania Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis.
“Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than any other race,” Davis said.
To understand why, said Pediatric surgeon Dr. Ala Stanford, the medical community needs to address their biases: “Acknowledge that health disparities exist in this country.”
Stanford is a longtime advocate for racial equity and justice in health care.
“In Philadelphia, Black women represent 43% of the births but 73% of the deaths,” she said.
Stanford says medical providers need to acknowledge symptoms when a patient says she has pain, and learn to recognize hemorrhages in Black women — “because, unfortunately, there are no pictures in the textbooks. I can tell you, having gone to medical school,” she said. “When you see a person with a darker hue, there are other things that you have to look for.”
And in addition to recognizing these disparities, Rep. La’Tasha Mayes said legislators have a responsibility to help make laws that center around Black women’s experiences to help improve outcomes, like insurance coverage of doula expenses and providing other childbirth support.
“Because when we eliminate disparities for Black mamas, we improve the health of all moms in this commonwealth.”