Racism underlies disparities in maternal mortality in Americas -UN report

Source: Reuters

Racism underlies disparities in maternal mortality in Americas -UN report

Nancy Lapid
Wed, July 12, 2023 at 12:04 AM EDT·2 min read

(Reuters) - High rates of pregnancy-related deaths among women of African descent in North and South America are likely due largely to racism in the form of verbal and physical abuse from health care providers, denial of quality care, and refusal of pain relief, a U.N. report found.

The new analysis by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) refutes misconceptions that Black women's lifestyle choices or genetics underlie their poorer childbirth experiences, the authors said.

Drawing on government data and published studies, they found Black and mixed race women of African descent face disadvantages rooted in racist assumptions in medical education, policymaking, and health service delivery.

Medical textbooks, for example, teach childbirth based on a pelvic shape common to European women yet highly variable among women of other ethnicities, increasing their risk of obstetric intervention, the report said.

Many doctors also learn, incorrectly, that Black people feel less pain ...

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/racism-underlies-disparities-maternal-mortality-040400768.html