Tiffany is holding her baby, London, at a family member’s birthday party.
By Keyasha Martino
Tiffany Davidson, a 28-year-old college graduate enjoying life while working in the corporate world, was ecstatic yet shocked when she learned that she was pregnant. She and her longtime boyfriend had never discussed having children but were ready for this new journey that life presented them with. As she had gotten farther along, Tiffany made her job aware of her pregnancy as doctor appointments became more frequent.
“At first, I had gotten so many compliments and congratulatory messages from supervisors and coworkers, but it all turned into a very dramatic Lifetime movie,” Tiffany stated.
The atmosphere at work became very tense and the comfort she felt while on her job suddenly disappeared. Supervisors became reluctant to accommodate her in regards to her pregnancy. She even began receiving write-ups for returning late from lunch, due to her scheduling her doctor appointments for lunchtime, since she no longer had time to take off from work. Eventually, she went on maternity leave at home.
Allowed four months for maternity leave, her supervisors harassed her about returning. Tiffany’s concern for her baby caused her to have to make a major decision between her employment and child. A company she had been so loyal to for many years did not care about her, nor her unborn child. Tiffany felt if she conformed to the pressure that her job placed on her and continued to work, she could risk losing her baby. Despite needing her job, Tiffany was not willing to risk her child. Her physicians soon labeled her with a high risk pregnancy as a result of the stress concerning her employer. At that moment, Tiffany chose her child over her employment. She and baby London are doing well.
An article, “Black Women Die from Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications At Alarming Rates”, argued that The United States has been labeled for having the worst rate of maternal deaths within developed countries. Many American women are dying from pregnancy-related complications, but a very high percentage of African-American women are facing mortality when becoming pregnant. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, maternity mortality rates to live births ratio between 2011 to 2013 was 43.5 deaths per 100,000 live births for black women. The ratio for white women was 12.7 deaths per 100, 000 live births. For black women that carried their pregnancies to full term, 60 percent were dying within 42 days after delivery. In 2010, Amnesty International rated Georgia as the highest for pregnancy-related deaths than any other state. So, why are America’s black mothers in a such a life-or-death catastrophe? Could this have anything to do with the experience that black woman has had in America over time?
Nina Martin, a journalist who has reported on this issue for ProPublica, expressed great disappointment when discussing the struggles and deaths of black women from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Martin stated, “The mortality African-American women face after childbirth or pregnancy is devastating and even more heartbreaking that their stories are remaining untold.” Living locations and conditions, as well as work environments, can increase the dangers for pregnant African American women. Some women live hours away from their physicians, have preexisting conditions that can make their pregnancy high risk, and must work in environments that are not pregnancy-friendly. Martin highlighted some stories of women that prove there is an issue being silenced in America regarding the maternity mortality rate of African American women.
“During my research, I learned the story of Kira Dixon Johnson. She and her husband were successful business owners, always traveling, and were having their second child. Recently moving to Los Angeles they researched the best doctors in their area and were expecting a perfect pregnancy run; that’s not what they got.”
When it came time for the arrival of Kira’s baby, her doctors prepped for a C-section and soon after, Kira began to hemorrhage. Nina explained that the medical team handling her delivery and pregnancy delayed treatment, and Kira died 12 hours after meeting her new baby boy.
Shalon Irving was 36 and an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a place where research concerning issues like maternity mortality was investigated. Though Shalon, like Kira, had many advantages in life, these did not save her from losing her life three weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Soleil. Shalon lost her life from complications due to hypertension.
Despite access to health care and living conditions, Kira and Shalon were women of adequate social status and had access to both great health care and living conditions. The high rate of black women dying due to pregnancy is not a problem that those of the health care industry can escape. Nina said, “They can’t ‘lack of health care’ and ‘they’re in poverty’ their way out of this one. It is an issue that needs attention and needs to change immediately.”
Pregnancy is a journey that is full of excitement as women and their families prepare for bringing life into the world. Risk and stress is not something that should be of concern for women, especially a specific race of women. Though Tiffany was able to choose life over risk and death, some women cannot make such decisions. People in America are seeing how wrong and horrific this issue is. Whether the issue will ever be resolved or improved is to be determined, but black mothers should remain alive after the birth of their children.