licensed by :CC BY 2.0 Name: Maternity Grants For Pregnant Women Respond to one of the video stories you watched about birth in America. Describe 3 factors that influence maternal mortality in America among women of color. Did you realize the U.S. had such a horrible maternal rate for a developing country? What are 2 things that could be done by our healthcare system to better support expectant mothers? Be sure to credit your sources.
I watched the story in Louisiana, from Birth in America. This clip captured the true effects of being pregnant as a minority in Louisiana. I already knew the struggles African American women go through in order to receive the same health opportunities as those who identify as white. Factors that influence maternal mortality in America among women of color are poverty, lack of trust with doctors and patients, and lack of knowledge. Poverty is the main issue which impacts maternal mortality. Women who don’t have money tend to live in low- income neighborhoods, these neighborhoods could be 30 minutes to 1 hour away; most of these women don’t have access to a car and are commuting by a bus. Which is time consuming. These women also don’t have access to prenatal care to help keep their babies healthy and have a smooth pregnancy and birth. Second is lack of care between doctor and patients, this is the most important out of all of the factors. If these women do not have a good relationship with their provider, they are less likely to go and keep up with their appointments. Lastly, lack of knowledge. Some of these women don’t know that the world is against them when it comes to their maternal mortality. Under the clip, there talks about a woman who didn’t know that the stats were against women of color. How many women die each year and that there is nothing being done. This knowledge can be used to protect these women and help save their lives.
Two things that could be done by our healthcare system to better support expectant mothers are providing midwives/doulas and spending money to help improve the care of women who have 1-12 months old babies. The clip,Midwives, doulas could benefit births --but not all women have access; the women talk about how there isn’t a lot of care for native and African American women. So, they had created a center which helped women have a powerful and controlled birth at their own pace. A clip from a web show “Healthcare Triage,” talks about how care before giving birth isn’t helping the rates of maternal mortality go down but “spending a significant amount of money on poor women to improve the health of their 1 month- to- 1 year old might not save lives; but might be cost-effective, too” (healthcare Triage, 2016). I'm surprised that not helping women pre- pregnancy isn’t the way to go; it's something I thought that would help these women in the future.
Spotlight a local or global non-profit or activist group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. (EXCLUDING; Planned Parenthood and Groundswell). What is the name of the organization, its mission, and its services that it provides?
I choose Natural Organization for Women, as my local or global non-profit or activist group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. Their mission statement that they are “dedicated to its multi-issue and multi-strategy approach to women’s rights and is the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States. Since our founding in 1966, NOW’s purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life” (NOW, 2020). The NOW provides a various activity such as reproductive Rights and Justices, Ending violence against women, economic justices, LGBTQ rights, racial justices and constitutional equality Amendment. With Reproductive Rights and Justices this program strives to bring education for all, so that women can improve their health and maintain their health for themselves and their families. These are a few of the activates that you or anyone can get involved with to bring awareness to these various issues.
- Gellila Solomon
RESOURCES:
Healthcare Triage. (206, Aug 22). Infant Mortality in the United States is Surprisingly High [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ToJbhLEbdM&feature=emb_logo
Howard, J. (2017, November 15). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/health/black-women-maternal-mortality/index.html
Howard, J. (2019, November 16). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/health/midwives-doulas-every-mother-counts-wellness/index.html
National Organization for Women. (2020). Retrieved February 16, 2020, from https://now.org/
I watched the story in Louisiana, from Birth in America. This clip captured the true effects of being pregnant as a minority in Louisiana. I already knew the struggles African American women go through in order to receive the same health opportunities as those who identify as white. Factors that influence maternal mortality in America among women of color are poverty, lack of trust with doctors and patients, and lack of knowledge. Poverty is the main issue which impacts maternal mortality. Women who don’t have money tend to live in low- income neighborhoods, these neighborhoods could be 30 minutes to 1 hour away; most of these women don’t have access to a car and are commuting by a bus. Which is time consuming. These women also don’t have access to prenatal care to help keep their babies healthy and have a smooth pregnancy and birth. Second is lack of care between doctor and patients, this is the most important out of all of the factors. If these women do not have a good relationship with their provider, they are less likely to go and keep up with their appointments. Lastly, lack of knowledge. Some of these women don’t know that the world is against them when it comes to their maternal mortality. Under the clip, there talks about a woman who didn’t know that the stats were against women of color. How many women die each year and that there is nothing being done. This knowledge can be used to protect these women and help save their lives.
Two things that could be done by our healthcare system to better support expectant mothers are providing midwives/doulas and spending money to help improve the care of women who have 1-12 months old babies. The clip,Midwives, doulas could benefit births --but not all women have access; the women talk about how there isn’t a lot of care for native and African American women. So, they had created a center which helped women have a powerful and controlled birth at their own pace. A clip from a web show “Healthcare Triage,” talks about how care before giving birth isn’t helping the rates of maternal mortality go down but “spending a significant amount of money on poor women to improve the health of their 1 month- to- 1 year old might not save lives; but might be cost-effective, too” (healthcare Triage, 2016). I'm surprised that not helping women pre- pregnancy isn’t the way to go; it's something I thought that would help these women in the future.
Spotlight a local or global non-profit or activist group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. (EXCLUDING; Planned Parenthood and Groundswell). What is the name of the organization, its mission, and its services that it provides?
I choose Natural Organization for Women, as my local or global non-profit or activist group that is working to improve maternal health in the U.S. Their mission statement that they are “dedicated to its multi-issue and multi-strategy approach to women’s rights and is the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States. Since our founding in 1966, NOW’s purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life” (NOW, 2020). The NOW provides a various activity such as reproductive Rights and Justices, Ending violence against women, economic justices, LGBTQ rights, racial justices and constitutional equality Amendment. With Reproductive Rights and Justices this program strives to bring education for all, so that women can improve their health and maintain their health for themselves and their families. These are a few of the activates that you or anyone can get involved with to bring awareness to these various issues.
- Gellila Solomon
RESOURCES:
Healthcare Triage. (206, Aug 22). Infant Mortality in the United States is Surprisingly High [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ToJbhLEbdM&feature=emb_logo
Howard, J. (2017, November 15). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/health/black-women-maternal-mortality/index.html
Howard, J. (2019, November 16). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/health/midwives-doulas-every-mother-counts-wellness/index.html
National Organization for Women. (2020). Retrieved February 16, 2020, from https://now.org/
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