THE RACIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE BONE-CHILLING DISPARITIES OF PREGNANT MOTHERS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO THE INFLUENCES OF COVID-19’S POTENTIAL ROLE IN HEIGHTENING THE DIVIDE
(The New York Times)
Arya Hanumara
President
Co-Editor In Chief
Social Effects Head
A Mother's Role
As Mother's Day is fast approaching this week, there is an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and sensitivity surrounding the once highly celebrated holiday. Frankly, mother's are the nation’s true heroes, willing to take care of their children, and constantly fighting for better opportunities for their kids, whether it be arguing with a soccer coach for their son/daughter to play a game, to even simply sacrificing nine months of their lives to give birth to their children.
Regardless of a mother’s role and dedication to their children, certain mothers are always going to have different experiences raising their kids, whether it be because of socio-economic limitations or other factors. The harrowing reality that their son/daughter might be growing up in a world where they could easily get turned down a job just for having a slightly darker shade of skin fills many mothers with fear. Regardless of these situations, a mother will always find it in their heart to love their kids, sometimes expressing this admiration in bizarre ways.
Background On The Racial Bias In The Heathcare Industry
A major issue that our society is facing, is not only the implications of the Coronavirus on the United State’s economy, and health, but the mere social effects that being subject to a global pandemic may take on people. To reference back to our overarching themes of mothers, this article will cover the topics of racial inequality that may be an overall result of the pandemic, in a direct juxtaposition with mothers that are pregnant with children during this somewhat frightening time, specifically addressing the effects that the pandemic may have on instilling a deeper racial divide between pregnant women of different ethnicities.
To further address the racial inequalities prevalent in the healthcare industry, and subsequently provide a more substantial context for the disparity that ethnic pregnant women face, it is helpful to look at other examples of various forms of systemic racism in a medical context. First and foremost, Americans need to take time to understand that although they might believe or even convince themselves that they’re not racist or offensive, there is already a pre-existing bias against people of color. From the beginning of history, white people have had a sort of god complex, whilst “assigning” people of different races the role of the inferiority complex. This was brought about by thousands of years of history, ranging from methods of justification for this superiority, such as social Darwinism, or even the implications of the span of various European empires, and their imperialistic tendencies.
A person who hosts a god complex is defined as “looked up to” and seen as “strong and powerful”, whereas a person with an inferiority complex is “not confident” with themselves and highly inferior to a white person. The infuriating aspect of the two absurd “complexes,” is that they have been grained into the minds of millions of Americans from such an early stage, creating a strong subconscious bias, heavily impressed within various races. Several Americans say they are accepting of these different races, and that everybody should have equal rights. Although they have extremely positive intentions, they do not understand that they were raised to subconsciously believe that people of color are their inferiors. This might not be the case with all, but it is indeed prevalent to many. The especially wrenching aspect of this disparity is that it has affected people's jobs and ways of life, most prevalently in the healthcare industry. It is statistically proven that doctors have a bias towards white patents, and to have it affect a consultation or check-up is incredibly chilling. What is especially horrendous is that it has affected surgeries for hundreds of years.
The Anti-Black Drug
Unfortunately, three times as many African American women die giving birth than white women. Additionally, there is still the infuriating subconscious belief that African Americans have a higher pain tolerance than white people. According to the Los Angeles Times, the opioid crisis can be seen as a direct, and somewhat ironic, result of the gaping divide between races in the healthcare industries. Most people in America who are addicted to opioids are white (this is because it was mainly prescribed as a pain-killer to white people) making it become a highly addictive drug within various white communities. This alludes to the fact that it wasn't commonly prescribed to black people, because of its instant pain relief, reflecting the thought that “black people couldn’t feel pain”. This serves as an ironic twist but still a key piece of evidence that can directly support the uneducated belief.
Teaching Defense
Another hardship that black mothers face is the constant worry as to whether their children will be safe merely walking to school. The sickening thought that one’s child could easily be shot walking around in their neighborhood, or yelled at for playing with their friends, is terrifying to thousands of black mothers throughout the United States. While other kids are learning to ride bikes, read, or write stories, most black moms have to spend days teaching their kids just to be safe and not look suspicious when a man might walk over to them.
The Anxiety Of A Pregnant Woman
In addition to the multitude of anxieties that black mothers face, there is also an underlying tension caused directly by the COVID-19 virus. There is a lot of evidence stating that the virus has greatly impacted black communities, especially considering the familial and tight-knit aspects of these neighborhoods. Oftentimes, interaction is inevitable, especially taking into account the subjection that most African Americans face, specifically by not being offered job opportunities like other races. Therefore, there is an increased amount of black communities being located in more underprivileged neighborhoods, sometimes called hoods or ghettos. Not only does the virus spread faster in these neighborhoods, but it also provides a complete conjecture to the legitimacy of the various protests occurring in the United States of America. For these protests to be populated by a mainly white crowd, they can be seen as somewhat selfish, and to open up the cities again can be interpreted as the government in no means taking into account the fact that they aren’t the immediate community that is heavily impacted by the virus.
With this ongoing process of opening up cities, there is still this underlying fear that all pregnant women face. Many do not know if their delivery will be impacted, or if their newborn will be able to potentially survive direct exposure to the virus. Many mothers say that they feel “powerless, and have to continue going to their check-ups.” There are lots of concerns that women who are already pregnant are at a higher risk for developing the virus, as they are constantly in the need to go to hospitals which are unfortunately breeding grounds for COVID-19.
Regaining Faith
To further question the racial aspects of the highly demanded profession, the coronavirus will truly serve as a test as to whether the healthcare system is as fixated on the preconceived bias that has been so evident in the past. Considering the fact that this bias can easily translate to “who gets a ventilator,” or “you’re black and you have higher pain tolerance, so you must be more immune,” it is crucial that we as a nation work towards closing this vast aperture between our heroic healthcare system workers, and people of different races, especially emphasizing ethnic pregnant women, to ensure that they receive the same level of treatment as any other patient. There should not be, in any manner whatsoever, a different level of care between a black pregnant mother and a white pregnant mother, as there is always going to be a level of anxiety appropriate with the times. We as a community can make sure that all people are treated with the same care, allowing for America to truly grow and become a stronger, and more accepting, country. To all expecting mothers out there, stay strong and have faith in yourself and your healthcare professionals. Happy Mother’s Day!
SOURCES:
"Getting Sick while Black." O : the Oprah magazine, 10, 2018, pp. 108-0115. ProQuest
Willoughby, Christopher D. E. "Blackface is just a Symptom of American medicine’s Racist Past."ProQuest, Feb 12, 2019.
Healy, Melissa. "Why Opioid Crisis is Worse for Whites: More Prescriptions; Doctors' Bias on Race and Pain Plays Role in Disparity, Study Says." Los Angeles Times, Feb 12, 2019. ProQuest
"Sens. Wyden, Merkley Introduce Bill Aimed at Reducing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality." Targeted News Service, Aug 23, 2018. ProQuest
Kingo, Audrey G. "Shattering the Silence." Working Mother, vol. 41, no. 2, Jun, 2018, pp. 38-44. ProQuest
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