Location
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
Event Website
https://depauw.campuslabs.com/engage/event/9085478
Start Date
3-5-2023 11:45 AM
End Date
3-5-2023 11:55 AM
Presentation Type
Thesis
Description
Maternal mortality is widely acknowledged as one of many general indicators of overall health of a population, of status of women in society, and of functioning of the health system (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001). The United States, among one of the most high-income countries, ranks near the top in maternal mortality and the trend is increasingly exacerbating (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC], 2022). There are stark racial disparities within the United States’ maternal mortality rates; Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related death than their White counterparts (Howell, 2018). To address the barriers and root causes of maternal health inequities, it is critical to understand both clinical and nonclinical factors that impact the maternal health experience, as both have produced and reproduced the commodification of Black women’s childbearing. This literature review provides an overview of the trajectory of maternal mortality within the United States throughout its history, up to its current state. Thus, it is important to learn the racialized history of Black maternal experiences, not only to assess how the U.S.’ healthcare system does not adequately hear and act on the preferences and concerns of Black women and birthing people during their pregnancies, births, and postpartum periods, but also to equitably bridge the gap of disproportionate maternal death among Black women, while implementing anti-racist public health initiatives that remedy entrenched health disparities (AAMC, 2022; Owens & Fett, 2019). This review focuses more on the breadth of how the historical treatment of Black bodies, along with the United States’ particular construction of wellness, has contributed to the high, contemporary Black maternal mortality rates in the United States.
Included in
The Myth of Wellness: Deconstructing High, Contemporary Black Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
Maternal mortality is widely acknowledged as one of many general indicators of overall health of a population, of status of women in society, and of functioning of the health system (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001). The United States, among one of the most high-income countries, ranks near the top in maternal mortality and the trend is increasingly exacerbating (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC], 2022). There are stark racial disparities within the United States’ maternal mortality rates; Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related death than their White counterparts (Howell, 2018). To address the barriers and root causes of maternal health inequities, it is critical to understand both clinical and nonclinical factors that impact the maternal health experience, as both have produced and reproduced the commodification of Black women’s childbearing. This literature review provides an overview of the trajectory of maternal mortality within the United States throughout its history, up to its current state. Thus, it is important to learn the racialized history of Black maternal experiences, not only to assess how the U.S.’ healthcare system does not adequately hear and act on the preferences and concerns of Black women and birthing people during their pregnancies, births, and postpartum periods, but also to equitably bridge the gap of disproportionate maternal death among Black women, while implementing anti-racist public health initiatives that remedy entrenched health disparities (AAMC, 2022; Owens & Fett, 2019). This review focuses more on the breadth of how the historical treatment of Black bodies, along with the United States’ particular construction of wellness, has contributed to the high, contemporary Black maternal mortality rates in the United States.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/library_symposium/2023/2023/6
Comments
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Christina Wagner's GLH Senior Seminar, Fall 2022