Our patriarchal society often neglects black women when it comes to social issues, and it doesn’t stop with healthcare. Black women have a higher chance of dying from totally preventable deaths all because the healthcare system refuses to take their pain seriously, or even worse, completely dismiss their cries for help. Compared to white women, black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth. Maternal care reformer Wanda Irving, speaks out about this issue in her TEDMED talk, “How the US medical community fails Black mothers.”
Background On Wanda Irving
Wanda Irving has over 30 years of experience in the government and non-profit area. She continually strives to seek solutions to community issues while empowering people and working toward creating a world where no individual is excluded, one step at a time. In 2006, Wanda received a Masters of Public Administration from Baruch College, CUNY. She also has a bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College.
Wanda lost her daughter Shalon, who was having pregnancy complications. Shalon’s death left Wanda to take care of her granddaughter on her own. Wanda has now dedicated herself to raising awareness of the disparities in healthcare that Black women are forced to face.
If you’re interested in reading more about the healthcare issues that women face, check out Eric Benét: A Provocative Statement About Birth Control.
About Her Talk
Wanda’s talk has over 200,000 views. In her moving speech, she describes how the racism and inequalities of the US healthcare system has impacted her and her family. She also lists off some staggering statistics about maternal mortality rates.
“In 2017, NPR and ProPublica reported that the United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality of any developed country in the world. And the United States is the only country where that rate is steadily rising.”
Wanda Irving
Wanda goes on to say that Black women remain the primary group contributing to maternal mortality. Black women are consistently seen as a stereotype, such as being less intelligent, less likely to follow a treatment plan, more likely to engage in unhealthy habits, and therefore are treated as such. Wanda explains that unequal treatment may not always be obvious. “That racism can be blatantly overt or covertly subtle, but make no mistake – it is there.”
It does not matter if the bias from medical providers is clear or subtle. Either way, the results could be potentially fatal. Wanda makes known the social class and high education levels of her daughter. She sorrowfully indicates how Shalom’s strong foundation was no match for her skin color and was unable to save her from becoming yet another statistic. According to data from New York City, college-educated black mothers are more likely to suffer complications from pregnancy compared to white women who never graduated from high school. This illustrates just how deeply rooted racism is in America.
Shalon’s Story
Shalon was a well-respected epidemiologist at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and a lieutenant commander in the U.S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She held a bachelor’s degree in sociology, two master’s degrees and earned a dual doctorate in sociology and gerontology. Even with her high status and prominent education, she still ended up dying before her time.
“It tells you that you can’t educate your way out of this problem. You can’t health care-access your way out of this problem. There’s something inherently wrong with the system that’s not valuing the lives of black women equally to white women.”
Raegan McDonald-Mosley
When Shalon discovered that she was pregnant, she took extra careful measures and precautions because she knew her pregnancy was one of high-risk due to her history of high blood pressure and blood clotting disorder. According to her mother, Shalon was on top of everything. She made regular visits to the obstetrician, created a detailed birth plan, and more. In January of 2017, Shalon’s daughter was successfully born via C-section.
However, in the weeks after her birth, Shalon began to experience dangerously high blood pressure levels, weight gain, bladder issues, and a number of other problems. The most alarming sign was the painful lump that formed on her C-section incision. Shalon made visit after visit to the doctor’s only for her to be told that nothing was wrong. A few days after her last visit, she collapsed from a heart attack and died shortly after.
Postpartum care in the U.S is significantly lacking, especially for African American women. They have higher rates of C-sections and are more likely to return to the hospital because of complications after surgery. They are also more likely to experience postpartum depression. Black women also dread going to doctor’s appointments for fear of being discriminated against, so they skip out on postpartum visits for themselves. This can be harmful and it highlights the assumption most people have about healthy birth meaning an unproblematic postpartum stage.
Other Black Women Who Have Suffered
Even highly adored celebrities like revered tennis champion Serena Williams and superstar Beyoncé experienced life-threatening pregnancy complications that could have been avoided if their medical teams had simply just listened. When Williams was suddenly gasping for breath, the medical employees dismissed her claims that blood clots were blocking arteries in her lung. Even though her medical history of this condition was well-known, they still ignored her and wasted valuable time instead of immediately addressing the issue.
During her latest pregnancy, Beyoncé developed preeclampsia. She was confined to bed rest for months, as this condition causes high blood pressure, can harm the organs, and is potentially fatal.
A Call For Change
In honor of her daughter, Wanda along with Shalon’s friends, founded a non-profit and are currently working to eradicate preventable deaths among Black mothers by promoting accountability measures and striving to integrate postpartum bills into the law. One of Wanda’s many goals is to improve the quality of medical care for Black women. At the end of her speech, Wanda urges the audience to take action and acknowledge inequity wherever they see it. As she wraps up, her voice full to the brim with emotion, she encourages everyone to vow to create a better earth.
Wanda’s TEDMED talk calls for change among the medical community and inspires each of us to make a difference, however small.
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