In the United States, black individuals have a higher mortality rate in a hospital compared to any other race. These numbers are not only high because of health conditions or life-threatening diseases but because of medical racism which is still very common today. Equity and equality are crucial factors that any medical professional should have within any medical setting, but even then many of their patients do not get this. From things as simple as getting treated for a cold to more serious issues and complications such as pregnancy, women of color are facing bias and racism from those individuals that are supposed to help them. The constant dismissal of any women of color’s pain, symptoms, and suffering by their healthcare providers is an ongoing issue and a product of historical racism and gender bias that is still a prominent issue today.
First rounds of clinical trials for the birth control pill as a form of contraception were studied and tried on Puerto Rican women in the 1950’s. The clinical trials were not allowed in the United States due to the government not agreeing with this type of drug to the public. Therefore leading them to the poor and underserved communities in Puerto Rico to test run the experiment. They were once again used later in history in the contraceptive tubule sterilization which was an operation that was initially tying the fallopian tubes on these Puerto Rican women. Given the fact that they were unaware of the full extent behind the sterilization process, most times it was permanent and irreversible for most of these women. There were hundreds of Puerto Rican women who had undergone these sterilizations in the hospitals as well as the pill trials and in most cases most women were not fully aware of the procedure they had performed on them. Due to there being a language barrier amongst the women and the health care providers they were another example of women of color being wronged by the medical system from the United States. They took advantage of this and in some cases with the hospital sterilizations they were caught at their most vulnerable moment right before going to give birth to have them sign papers giving the hospital permission to do the sterilization procedure during the birth.
A key term to know that is related to medical racism is implicit bias. In short, this means that there is this unconscious judgment or stereotype that people, in this case medical professionals, make unknowingly and this can influence them into making certain actions and decisions based off of this. There are also few places that actually take into consideration that implicit bias is very common within healthcare spaces and “Anti-bias training is incorporated into medical and nursing schools, and an opportunity exists for offering continuing education for medical providers and professionals who create hospital policies”(Flax, Mishkin). It is important to be able to self-reflect and take accountability for the fact that you are trying to limit these thoughts and judgments that happen on a regular basis to many. However, working in a medical setting it is important to try to provide equally to all patients and other workers because it can help limit all of the health disparities that occur when health professionals do not fully listen and treat their patients in a correct form.
Black women are 3 times more likely to die in the hospitals compared to white women due to pregnancy related issues, whether this be pregnancy related illness or postpartum issues that come with the lack of aftercare and screenings from hospitals. Women of color, specifically black women, are the main ones who are less likely to be taken seriously and dismissed in regard to their pain tolerance or any type of distress that they show in hospitals. Many different illnesses and conditions come with pregnancy “They are cardiovascular or coronary conditions, infection, and hemorrhage. Cardiovascular complications (eg, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, cardiomyopathy, cerebrovascular accident) account for 30% to 40% of deaths within a year of pregnancy, including in the postpartum period.”(Burris, Gregory EF, Scott K, ). These conditions can increase right before birth during prenatal care or after if it is not being properly checked after the patient gives birth. The lack of care and empathy can lead to racial bias being prominent during a hospital visit and end in death.
In conclusion, medical racism continues to impact the lives of many women in the United States. From the inhuman and unethical experiments that occurred in history to those enslaved women, to the forced sterilization of Puerto Rican women and finally to all of the women who have died due to postpartum situations that have been added to the numbers of maternal mortality. Being able to take accountability and try to fix the fact that healthcare providers and professionals are constantly dismissing and giving unequal treatment to their patients who are women of color because of implicit bias and ongoing racism. This leads to outcomes that are preventable and just need more of a push to bring more awareness and solutions to it.
