A Broken Healthcare System: Racism and Maternal Health | Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha | TEDxTufts

TEDx Talks
14 Sept 202211:37
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe speaker, a maternal health researcher and advocate, shares her personal experiences with the healthcare system as a black woman and the stark differences in care she received during her two childbirths. She highlights the systemic racism and implicit bias that contribute to adverse maternal health outcomes for black and brown women, with preventable maternal deaths alarmingly high in the U.S. Despite her joy at motherhood, she was confronted with unwelcoming nursing staff during her first delivery, contrasting with the warmth and attentiveness of the staff during her second. The speaker's passion for addressing health disparities was ignited by personal loss and further fueled by the preventable death of a friend. She has since established the Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab, aimed at eradicating inequities through research, advocacy, and mentorship. The lab focuses on maternal safety bundles and the role of doulas in improving maternal health outcomes. The speaker emphasizes the urgency of this work, noting that training healthcare professionals to implement life-saving procedures and address microaggressions can be life-saving. She is also working towards creating a national center for black maternal health and reproductive justice at Tufts University. The speaker calls for collective action to challenge racism and advocate for the care that black birthing people deserve, stressing the impact that kindness and compassion can have on the birthing experience.

Takeaways
  • 🤰 The healthcare system is often experienced as broken and unwelcoming by black and brown women, with racism and implicit bias contributing to adverse maternal health disparities.
  • 📉 A significant number of maternal deaths in the U.S. are preventable, yet rates are worsening despite medical advancements.
  • 👶 The speaker's personal experiences with childbirth varied greatly between two deliveries, highlighting the impact of nursing staff attitudes on patient care.
  • 🏆 Serena Williams' experience post-childbirth underscores the reality that even with celebrity status, black women can be dismissed in healthcare settings due to racism.
  • 🧐 Implicit bias and racism can lead to life-threatening delays in care, as seen in instances where urgent medical concerns are not taken seriously.
  • 📈 Black women are disproportionately affected by pregnancy-related complications, with a significantly higher likelihood of death compared to other demographics.
  • 🧑‍🔬 The speaker's research aims to identify at-risk women and find solutions to address racial disparities in maternal health.
  • 🌟 The establishment of the Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab represents a commitment to training scholars and activists to fight inequities in maternal health.
  • 🤝 The MOTHER Lab's mission is to eradicate racial inequities through research, advocacy, and mentorship, focusing on confronting systems that perpetuate racism against black birthing women.
  • 🛡️ Maternal safety bundles and the role of doulas are key areas of focus to improve maternal health, with doulas providing critical support during birth and postpartum periods.
  • ⏳ There is an urgent need for the findings from maternal health research to be used to train healthcare professionals in life-saving procedures and to address microaggressions.
Q & A

  • What is the primary issue experienced by black and brown women in the healthcare system?

    -Black and brown women often experience the healthcare system as broken, unwelcoming, and not equipped to center their needs, with racism and implicit bias playing a significant role in exacerbating adverse maternal health disparities.

  • How many maternal deaths in the United States are preventable?

    -63% of all maternal deaths and 90% of maternal deaths due to hemorrhage are preventable in the United States.

  • What was the speaker's personal experience with the healthcare system during her first delivery?

    -During her first delivery, the nursing staff was cold, unwelcoming, and uninterested in her care, which contrasted sharply with her second delivery experience where the nursing staff was warm and accommodating.

  • What is lupus and how did it impact the speaker's life?

    -Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause pain and inflammation anywhere in the body. The loss of a close friend to lupus after her delivery awakened the speaker's passion for addressing health disparities.

  • What is the maternal mortality rate for black women compared to white women?

    -Black women are 243 percent more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to white women.

  • Who is Serena Williams and why is her experience significant?

    -Serena Williams is a global tennis superstar whose persistence in reporting chest pains after delivery saved her life from a potentially fatal blood clot. Her experience highlights the dismissive treatment black women face in the healthcare system, even with celebrity status.

  • What is the mission of the Mother Lab?

    -The mission of the Mother Lab is to address and eradicate inequities black women face through research, advocacy, and mentorship by confronting and dismantling the systems that perpetuate racism for black women who give birth.

  • What are maternal safety bundles?

    -Maternal safety bundles are focused on preventing and treating hemorrhage, hypertension, and reducing racism in a clinical encounter.

  • What role do doulas play in maternal health?

    -Doulas are trained professionals that provide care during birth and postpartum. Studies show that people who have used doulas are less likely to have a C-section, more likely to breastfeed, and report higher overall rates of better health.

  • What is the significance of the speaker's work in creating a national center for black maternal health and reproductive justice?

    -The national center will serve as a hub for community research and policy to address maternal health disparities, aiming to create a world where black birthing people receive access to the same high caliber resources as others without their concerns being ignored or dismissed.

  • What is the speaker's vision for the future of maternal health for black women?

    -The speaker envisions a world where black women do not face maternal health complications due to racism or other forms of discrimination and where all black birthing people receive the same level of care and attention as others.

  • How can individuals contribute to addressing maternal health disparities?

    -Individuals can contribute by being kind and compassionate, calling out racism, standing up for what is right, and supporting initiatives that aim to reduce health disparities and improve maternal health outcomes for black and brown women.

Outlines
00:00
🤰 The Struggles and Personal Experiences of Black and Brown Women in Healthcare

The first paragraph discusses the systemic issues faced by black and brown women within the healthcare system, particularly focusing on maternal health. It emphasizes the role of racism and implicit bias in exacerbating health disparities, and the preventability of a significant number of maternal deaths. The speaker shares her personal journey through two contrasting childbirth experiences, highlighting the profound impact of compassionate care in her second delivery. The narrative also touches on the speaker's background, the importance of education in her family, and the loss of friends due to societal issues and health disparities, which fueled her passion for addressing these disparities.

05:00
🏥 Addressing Maternal Health Disparities through Research and Advocacy

The second paragraph delves into the speaker's professional journey and efforts to combat racial disparities in maternal health. With a Master's in Public Health and a PhD in Maternal Child Health, the speaker has dedicated her work to community-based research and reducing health disparities. The paragraph also discusses the establishment of the Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab, which aims to eradicate inequities faced by black women through research, advocacy, and mentorship. The lab's mission is to ensure black birthing people receive high-quality care without their concerns being ignored. The speaker and her team focus on maternal safety bundles and the role of doulas in improving maternal health outcomes.

10:02
🌟 Creating a National Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice

The third paragraph outlines the speaker's ongoing work to establish the first-ever National Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University School of Medicine. This center will act as a focal point for community research and policy development to tackle maternal health issues. The speaker acknowledges the broken healthcare system and the need for advocacy to address these challenges. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for everyone to contribute to the cause, emphasizing the power of kindness and the potential impact of standing against racism and for justice.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Maternal Health Disparities
Maternal health disparities refer to the unequal differences in maternal health outcomes across different racial and ethnic groups. In the video, it is highlighted that black and brown women experience a broken healthcare system that is not equipped to cater to their needs, leading to adverse maternal health outcomes. The speaker shares her personal experiences and the statistics of preventable maternal deaths, emphasizing the severity of these disparities.
💡Racism and Implicit Bias
Racism and implicit bias are social factors that contribute to the exacerbation of health disparities. Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions. In the context of the video, the healthcare system is portrayed as being influenced by these biases, which play a key role in the unequal treatment and outcomes for black and brown women during childbirth.
💡Preventable Maternal Deaths
Preventable maternal deaths are those that occur due to complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum that could have been avoided with proper care and attention. The video states that 63% of all maternal deaths and 90% of maternal deaths due to hemorrhage are preventable, highlighting a significant issue in the U.S. healthcare system.
💡Self-Care
Self-care is the practice of taking steps to maintain and improve one's own health and well-being. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of focusing on self-care during pregnancy, as a way to celebrate the beauty of pregnancy and to counteract the negative statistics associated with maternal health for black women.
💡Maternal Safety Bundles
Maternal safety bundles are sets of evidence-based practices that, when implemented together, have been shown to improve the quality and safety of care during childbirth. The video mentions that these bundles focus on preventing and treating hemorrhage and hypertension, as well as reducing racism in clinical encounters, which are crucial for improving maternal health outcomes.
💡Doulas
Doulas are trained professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional, and educational support to a mother before, during, and after childbirth. In the video, the role of doulas is discussed as a key component in improving maternal health outcomes. It is mentioned that people who have used doulas are less likely to have a cesarean section, more likely to breastfeed, and report higher overall rates of better health.
💡Healthcare System
The healthcare system refers to the organization and management of health services and health promotion in a particular country or region. The video describes the U.S. healthcare system as broken and unwelcoming, particularly for black and brown women, and emphasizes the need for systemic change to address the racial disparities in maternal health.
💡Health Equity
Health equity is the principle that everyone should have the opportunity to attain their highest level of health without being disadvantaged by social position or other circumstances. The video's theme revolves around achieving health equity for black birthing people by addressing and eradicating the inequities they face through research, advocacy, and mentorship.
💡Reproductive Justice
Reproductive justice is a social movement that advocates for the rights of individuals to have control over their own reproductive health and bodies. The video discusses the creation of a national center for black maternal health and reproductive justice, which aims to serve as a hub for community research and policy to address maternal health issues.
💡Community-Based Research
Community-based research is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves community members, organizations, and researchers in addressing health issues affecting the community. The speaker's work involves community-based research to reduce health disparities, which is crucial for understanding and addressing the specific needs of black and brown women in the healthcare space.
💡Advocacy
Advocacy refers to the act of supporting a cause or policy, often through public or political means. In the video, advocacy is highlighted as a critical component in addressing the broken healthcare system and maternal health disparities. The speaker discusses the importance of standing up for what is right and calling out racism to make a difference in the lives of black birthing people.
Highlights

Black and brown women often experience the healthcare system as broken and unwelcoming, with racism and implicit bias exacerbating maternal health disparities.

63% of all maternal deaths and 90% of maternal deaths due to hemorrhage in the U.S. are preventable, yet rates are worsening.

The speaker's personal experience with childbirth highlighted the stark difference in care between two deliveries, emphasizing the impact of nursing staff attitudes.

The importance of addressing health disparities is underscored by the speaker's loss of friends to lupus and other health complications.

Education is presented as a pathway out of adverse circumstances, with the speaker's family achieving multiple degrees.

The Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab was established in 2020 to train scholars and activists in maternal health.

The MOTHER Lab aims to eradicate inequities faced by black women through research, advocacy, and mentorship.

The lab focuses on maternal safety bundles and the role of doulas in improving maternal health outcomes.

Doulas are shown to reduce the likelihood of C-sections and improve breastfeeding rates, contributing to better health.

The urgency of the lab's work is emphasized to train health leadership and clinical staff in life-saving procedures.

Microaggressions in healthcare can have life-or-death consequences, such as delays in treating severe hypertension.

The speaker is involved in creating a birthing center in Boston to provide alternatives to hospital or home births.

Plans are underway to establish the first National Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University.

The National Center will serve as a hub for community research and policy to address maternal health disparities.

The speaker emphasizes the power of kindness and compassion in healthcare, as demonstrated by a nurse during her childbirth.

Calling out racism and standing up for what is right is encouraged as a means to make a difference in maternal healthcare.

The audience is reminded of the potential impact of every individual in advocating for change and supporting black birthing people.

Transcripts

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Maternal HealthHealthcare DisparitiesRacism ImpactBlack MothersPregnancy ComplicationsSerena WilliamsDoulas RoleHealth AdvocacyResearch LabCommunity Support