I will research the underlying factors contributing to the much higher maternal mortality rates experienced by Black women in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Black women have “significantly higher pregnancy-related mortality ratios.” (2020) The CDC also notes that the disparities persist irrespective of economic class. The seemingly benign stereotype of lesser resources in poorer neighborhoods would not solely account for the difference in maternal outcomes. What then is the culprit? And how is it, despite enormous advances in healthcare such unequal outcomes persist? Perhaps it is a nuanced confluence of interconnected parts, unveiling the cost of unaddressed structural disparities in our healthcare system. My interest in the topic is of a personal origin, I experienced a troubled pregnancy with my daughter necessitating an emergency C-section. After my own personal plight life went on, and I did not think much about it until I came across the concept of “weathering” in an online article a few years ago. Weathering is “used to describe how enduring constant racism, discrimination and stress leads to premature aging and poor health outcomes.” (Lane & Lane, 2020) Many of the stressors, indicated in the first article I read, I had experienced. My most persistent complaint was I did not feel truly heard by many of the healthcare personnel I met. I did not think my experience was unique because I heard the same concerns mimicked by several of my peers. I did not stop to consider all my peers were Black also. At the time I attributed my concerns to my age. I was on the cusp of being considered high risk. I hope to reveal the impact of weathering and other factors on the maternal disparities experienced by Black women regardless of social/economic standing.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, February 4). Infographic: Racial/ethnic disparities In PREGNANCY-RELATED deaths – United States, 2007–2016. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/disparities-pregnancy-related-deaths/infographic.html.
Lane, H., & Lane, H. (2020, June 26). Medical bias, weathering and the deadly impact on black mothers. The Center for Community Solutions. https://www.communitysolutions.com/medical-bias-weathering-deadly-impact-black-mothers/.
This is a fascinating project, one I’d love to see you complete during your studies here at UR! The primary issue as I see it is developing methods that uncover the impacts of weathering. Your research into weathering may uncover specific ways to measure its impact, and those will be important in proposing a research project into the effects of weathering on Black women. I think you’ll need to decide whether you consider weathering to be a cause or symptom of maternal disparities, and decide whether studying the health impacts of weathering or studying the causes of maternal disparities and/or mortality rates will be the focus of your work. Work to determine the thing you want to research — is it mortality rates among Black women? Is it the health impacts of weathering on Black women? Is it disparities in maternal care among Black women? Seek to determine the relationship among these topics to help you identify exactly what you want to explain through research.