To say that Black birthing mothers receive the lowest quality of care from the medical system due to racism and discrimination is putting it lightly. The New England Journal of Medicine identifies racism as a public health crisis: Black women are objectified, ignored, and violently handled. When a Black woman speaks up to advocate for herself, she is often marked as angry and combative by medical staff. Almost one-third of Black mothers reported that they did not feel the delivery room staff encouraged them to make decisions about their birth progression, in a survey conducted in California. This behavior contributes not only to the disparity in Black maternal mortality but also in the lack of equitable treatment and proper emotional care.
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