When OB-GYN Dr. Chavone Momon-Nelson thinks about the Black maternal mortality crisis, one particular patient sticks out to her. In her late 30s, Black and aware of the higher maternal mortality rate for her race, this woman wanted to speak to Momon-Nelson about whether to have another child. Even though she wanted one, she felt afraid. The last time she was pregnant, she had preeclampsia and didn’t realize how close to dying she was. The two had a candid chat about her health and the risks of being pregnant and Black.
“She decided to keep her IUD because she was like, ‘I think it’s a little bit too risky,’” Momon-Nelson, who practices in rural Pennsylvania, tells TODAY.com.
For Momon-Nelson, this moment “touched to the core of who I am as an OB-GYN and who I am as a Black woman” and reminded her how much medicine still needs to change to improve Black maternal mortality.
“We can do so much better. I love medicine. I have been dreaming about doing this job since I was a little girl,” she says. “That’s why I’m so hopeful that in my career that there will be some changes.”
Black maternal mortality and racism in medicine
Pregnancy can be dangerous for Black people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Black people are three times more likely to die than white people during pregnancy or up to a year after. Many factors contribute to that, including reduced access to health care and preexisting conditions.
To reduce the Black maternal mortality rate, “there needs to be a fundamental change in the actual foundation of health care systems,” Dr. Jessica Shepherd, an OB-GYN at Sanctum Med + Wellness in Dallas, tells TODAY.com. “That would be (addressing) insurance coverage, that would be (increasing) access to resources and tertiary care hospitals or systems that are in food desserts, underprivileged areas.”
While systemic issues are at play, lingering stereotypes about Black people’s bodies remain pervasive in…
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