Category Archives: Perinatal Disparities

The perinatal morbidity and mortality disparities in this country are a crime. Black women and babies suffer the most and we need to talk about it!

Mothers & Babies in Louisiana Need Doulas

Posted on April 7, 2012 | 3 Comments

The mothers and babies of Louisiana deserve and need more doulas.  The state of Louisiana has some of the worst perinatal outcomes in the nation.  Louisiana has the highest cesarean section rate in the country with nearly 4 out of every 10 women in the state give birth by major surgery1.  Every year, in our state, approximately 600 babies die before reaching their first birthday2. 

Premature birth is the second cause of infant death nationwide.  Mississippi and Alabama are the only two states with premature birth and infant mortality rates higher than Louisiana.  Together they are the only three states that received an F on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Cards. Prematurity is the leading cause of infant death in the African American community and in Louisiana, African American babies are more than twice as likely to die as Asian, Latino, and Caucasian babies2.  

 A Doula is a trained birth companion who provides physical, emotional and informational support to a mother and her family during pregnancy, labor, and after birth.  “Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily3”  Additionally, the use of Doulas has been shown to decrease the numbers of unnecessary medical interventions, decrease the numbers of cesarean sections and decrease the rate of premature births.  Now more than ever, every pregnant woman, including those in Louisiana, deserves and needs a Doula.

The International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC) is an infant mortality prevention, breastfeeding promotion, and doula/midwife training non-profit organization.  ICTC sponsors the Full Circle Doula Training Program to empower women, increase positive birth outcomes, and reduce infant mortality in African American community.  The Louisiana Friends of ICTC is seeking individuals who are interested in learning more about becoming a doula.  From the ICTC website:  The Full Circle Doula training is perfect for students interested in learning doula skills from multicultural, historical, and traditional perspectives.   In its doula training, ICTC teaches the history of midwifery as a model of care, infant mortality prevention, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and labor, nutrition and herbs, labor comfort measures, breastfeeding technique and much more. 

An ICTC Full Circle Doula Training will be held in New Orleans May 17 – 20, 2012.  If you, or someone you know is interested in learning more about empowering women during pregnancy and birth and starting a new career as a doula we want to hear from you.  You can learn more about the ICTC Full Circle Doula Training here or contact me for more information about the New Orleans training:  nicole at sistamidwife dot com.  Together we can make sure the women in Louisiana have an opportunity to truly Birth Something Beautiful™

References:
1.  National Vital Statistic Reports, Volume 59 Number 3, December 2010
2.  www.marchofdimes.com/peristats
3.  DONA International www.DONA.org

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Monday Musing: Erykah… Ebony… And a Missed Opportunity…

Posted on April 2, 2012 | 6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I was standing in line at the grocery store and picked up the March issue of Ebony Magazine. I picked it up initially because of the cover. It featured Samuel L. Jackson as the “King of Hollywood” looking fine as ever wit his bad ass…. But I digress…

As I flipped the pages, I noticed there was an article about Erykah Badu and her road to midwifery.  Suddenly I was “forced” to purchase the issue. I’m always happy to see anything positive about midwives in mainstream media, especially outlets that are widely read by black women. I was surprised to see the article and wondered why no one in my birth circles had talked about it…Or… I thought to myself, maybe they did, and I was simply under a rock. Regardless, I made the purchase and decided I would read the article later that day… which ultimately jus became later… Two weeks later.

Once I read the article, I  was truly disappointed.  The article did not speak at all about the benefits of midwifery care, or the benefits of hiring a doula. It said nothing of perinatal disparities and the need for black women to get more involved and to take more control over their birth experiences. The article gave information that could easily be misunderstood/misinterpreted. And aside from the fact that the article featured Erykah Badu, who is a wonderful role model and spokesperson for normal birth… the article did a disservice to birth professionals, to black women and to #BlackBirth in general IMHO.

It is well known that back babies and black mammas nationwide have the worst perinatal outcomes, yet somehow when Ebony decided to write an article about midwifery they left these facts out.  We have heard the statistic before. The national infant mortality rate is approximately 6.42 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rate for caucasian babies is less than the national average at around 5.3 deaths per 1,000 births while the rate for black babies is DOUBLE the national average with greater than 12 black babies dying per 1,000 births. In some states as many as 16 black babies die!!  Prematurity is the leading cause of infant mortality for black babies.  There are a host of reasons black women find themselves at increased risk for premature birth.  Ebony didn’t mention any of that.

Ebony left out information about the benefits of midwifery care and doulas.  They didn’t mention that research has shown repeatedly that Midwifery care with its attention to detail and focus on people and families not just bellies and babies, can turn birth disparities around.  Check out the work of one of my Midwife Sheroes Jennie Joseph for proof.   They left out advice about choosing a better doctor and getting better outcomes. Yep…. They left all of this out, all while doing things like calling a fetoscope a “maternity stethoscope”

I mentioned my annoyance to a couple of folk and their take on it was… “Well… This was an article about Erykah Badu not midwifery and pregnancy.” My thought… It was an article about Erykah and her path to midwifery… The two cannot be separated.   I thought to myself, maybe if they had covered these topics else where in the issue it would have been better.

Not five pages after the article on Erykah there was the “Wellness /Spirituality” section. Personally I can think of nothing that matches these two categories simultaneously more than midwifery. Yet… As I flipped through this section there is no word of pregnancy, birth, doulas, or midwives.

There was an article about Vitamin D.  Not a word about the research surrounding vitamin d deficiency and pre eclampsia; A serious pregnancy issue that disproportionately affects black women. There was even a blurb about clean teeth and heart attacks.  Again no mention of pregnancy, birth and the VERY STRONG link between dental hygiene and pre term labor.  Remember… preterm birth is the number one reason for infant mortality for black babies.

I was disappointed that Ebony fell short…waaaayyyy short.

They missed an opportunity to educate not only black women of child-bearing age but black families everywhere. And for that I say shame on you Ebony. Here was an opportunity to really serve the women who read your magazine and it was missed. I hope next time it will be different.

Did you read the Ebony Article? Do you feel like they missed an opportunity to help women Birth Something Beautiful™?  I sure do.

Welp… that’s my musing for this week…. Make it a GREAT one!
Don’t forget to follow me on twitter I’m @SistaMidiwfe

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Our History Does Not Have to Be Our Future

Posted on March 26, 2012 | 10 Comments

Welcome to the First Edition of the Black Birth Carnival. Hosted by Darcel of The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe and Nicole of Musings From The Mind of Sista Midwife. Our first topic is Birthing While Black: A Historical Perspective. At the end of this post you will find a list of links to the other participants. Some of these posts may contain Emotional Triggers and will be labeled at the beginning of the post.

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Let me start off by being completely honest.  I struggled a bit more than normal getting started with this blog post.  Each time I thought about the topic: A Historical perspective on Birthing While Black…  all I could think about was my foremothers and the pain and suffering they experienced as they gave birth. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to write about it. I didn’t really know if I wanted to read about it.  At the same time I knew I helped come up with the topic, and as a result, I had to do all three:  write, read, and think about it.

From the slave ships, to the auction blocks to the cotton fields… from the Jim Crow south to the “Negros Only” side of the inner city hospitals that were a far cry from separate but equal… I had think about it…. the hard and painful reality of what it was like historically for black women to give birth in this country.  It was physically and emotionally painful.  It was dirty and lonely.  It lacked compassion.  It was unsupported and often forced. It was in a word… Ugly.

Historically, birthing while black was also accompanied by fear.  There is a saying that a pregnant/birthing woman always has one foot in the grave.  This was not hard to believe, as our history includes the reality that death during or shortly after childbirth was an unfortunate common reality. Aside from maternal mortality, many more women experienced neonatal and infant mortality.  There was always the acknowledgement that a woman and/or her baby may not live to see beyond the labor bed.  Once past the initial dangers of the post partum period the fear was not eliminated for the black mother.  She knew that at any moment her baby could be taken away from her.  During slavery she had fear that her baby would be taken and sold to another plantation.  After slavery the fear became “Will my baby be taken from me by angry mobs and/or men in white sheets?”

There is no way I can think of and write about the history of Black Birth in this country without making mention of the many midwives who supported Black Women when no one else would. There are the women we know by name:  Margaret Charles Smith, Onnie Lee Logan, Mamie Odessa Hale, and Lucrecia Perryman to name a few.  Then there are the many who remain nameless: Those who brought their skill and knowledge of birth along with them when they were forced aboard ships and transported across the Atlantic.  Under the circumstances, these women and many more like them did the best they could to provide compassionate environments for birth.  While they made things better for the black women they served, not all women had access to midwives and even with access, the amount of poverty, racism, discrimination and subpar living conditions made Birthing While Black difficult to say the least.

Unfortunately, our modern day history, while better, is a far cry from ideal.  Over the past 18 years I have witnessed black birth in an obstetrical system that is not compassionate, understanding or culturally sensitive to black women.  Racism continues to plague treatment at hospitals nationwide and in many places Black Birth continues to be physically and emotionally painful, dirty and lonely, lacking compassion, unsupported and forced. In a word… Ugly.

There are many black women who have fought back. Many who have taken control of their experience and had wonderful birth experiences. Unfortunately I see many more who still receive subpar treatment.  While our maternal and infant mortality rates are certainly not as high as they once were, Black Birth still bears the disparity burden.

Many black women continue to birth in fear. I have seen many concerned if their baby will be taken by the social services system full of inadequacies, discrimination and racial profiling. They fear their children being taken away too soon through gun and gang violence, drugs or the Just Us System.  And now they will birth and fear that their children can be taken away from them by a racist idiot on a “neighbor hood watch campaign.”

We know our history is full of hard and difficult birth.  I can tell you that our modern day history is in need of do-over.  The question I ask is what will our future bring?   We can’t control our history but we DO have the option to change our future.  What legacy do you want to leave?  What do you want the historical perspective of Birthing While Black to be for your children?

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Please take time to read the other submissions for the Black Birth Carnival. These are very touching, thought-provoking posts

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Nicole – Musings From The Mind of Sista Midwife: Our History Does Not Have To Be Our Future

Darcel – The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe: What Happened To Our Strength?

Takiema – Connect Formation Consulting: Black & Still Birthing – A Deeply Personal Post

Teresha – Marlie and Me: My Childbirth Influences and Experiences: From my Foremothers to Erykah Badu

Denene – My Brown Baby: Birthing While Black In The Jim Crow South Stole My Grandmother: Thankfully, Things Change

Olivia – The Student Midwife: Birthing While Black: A Historical Perspective of Black Midwives

Chante – My Natural Motherhood Journey: Homebirth Stories

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Posted in Black Birth Blog Carnival, Lessons from BIRTH, Perinatal Disparities, Pregnancy & Birth

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The Black Birth Carnival: Call for Submissions (Submission Date Extended!!)

Posted on March 8, 2012 | 11 Comments

There are many blogs, and many bloggers out there, talking birth.  Some are bloggers who blog about birth occasionally, while others talk birth regularly.  Regardless of the frequency, they blog about the statistics, the interventions and the cesareans.  They talk about the good births, the bad births, the post partum period, breastfeeding and more. They discuss the how comes and the whys, and there is no shortage of opinions on why you should and why you shouldn’t.

Amidst these many blogs are a few bloggers who might classify themselves as Black, Mocha, African American, Mahogany, Afrikan…  I call them Sista Midwives.  Those few of us who in addition to blogging about birth often, and some exclusively, write posts that are written specifically for, about, and from our perspectives as Black Women.   One might ask… “So is birth really THAT much different for Black Women, when compared to Latina, Asian or Caucasian women?”  I say yes, Yes, YES.

Sure the babies physically are born the same way.  However… the joys and the pains of birth manifest differently in our lives; the spiritual, psychological, physical, emotional and cultural difference that exist are real and significant.  It is just as important to note that as no two women of ANY ethnic group birth exactly the same, the birth stories and experiences of Black Women nationally and internationally are wide are varied.

So when Diva Blogger Extraordinaire Darcel, of The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe came to me with the idea of putting together a new blog carnival I was delighted and jumped right on board. That being said, I am very excited to be introducing you to The Black Birth Carnival, that we, myself… Nicole @SistaMidwife Deggins  &  Darcel… @MahoganyWayMama, will bring to you throughout the year.  You can follow both of us on twitter and check out #BlackBirth to get continual updates about the progress and postings of The Black Birth Carnival.

In this first Carnival:  Birthing While Black… A Historical Perspective, we invite you to submit an article or blog post that incorporates in some way, the history of Black Women giving birth. Write about the images that come to mind when you read the title for this first Carnival.  Tell us how your birth choices today are affected by your personal historical perspective.  How do you think our birthing history affects the birth choices of women in our/your community?  What unique bit of history can you share about the historical perspective of Birthing While Black? What gives you special pride when you look back into history and visualize Black Women giving birth? Submit an article or blog about anything that you feel will highlight and incorporate our theme Birthing While Black… A Historical Perspective.

What is a Blog Carnival
A blog carnival is a collection of blog posts from a variety of bloggers on a particular subject, published on the same day.  This blog carnival will be published/go live Tuesday March 27th.  In addition to posting his/her article, each blogger provides links to all of the other posts submitted.  Because of this, blog carnivals are a great way to learn about other fabulous bloggers.  They give you an opportunity to connect with others and have the potential to increase traffic to your blog.  If you do not have a personal blog and want to participate, please email us ASAP at BlackBirthCarnival at gmail dot com so that we can find a host blog for your article submission.

Guidelines and Instructions for Submissions
We are looking for posts that are well written, informative, thought provoking and relevant to the theme of the carnival.  We prefer that you submit a new, unpublished post for the carnival however, if you feel you have the “perfect post” that has been previously published we will accept it. ;-)

Please email your post to us at BlackBirthCarnival at gmail dot com  no later than Tuesday,  March 20th (Attention:  We have decided to extend this date and now submissions are due no later than 11:59PM on Wednesday, March 21st) Be sure to put March Carnival in the subject line of the email and don’t forget to give us the title of your post. We cannot accept your submission without a title.

You will receive an HTML code with instructions via email no later than March 26th.  You will need to place this code in your blog post so that you will link up with all of the other blogs participating in the carnival.  For the success of the carnival, it’s important that you add this code.  Please do not publish your post until after midnight on the 27th.  We are excited about this new Blog Carnival and we look forward to receiving your submissions.

In Birth and Love
Darcel @mahoganywaymama  & Nicole @SistaMidwife
Let’s Celebrate #BlackBirth

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Posted in Black Birth Blog Carnival, Lessons from BIRTH, Perinatal Disparities, Pregnancy & Birth

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All Women Deserve Adequate Labor Support…

Posted on December 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

Recently read a wonderful interview with Penny Simpkin as she answers questions from Mother’s Advocate about the many benefits of Labor Support.  IMO, one of  the most pertinent quotes from the interview…

“I think what we find is that a woman has great emotional needs during labor. If those are not met, she’s depleted. She may become depressed — we’ve found that there’s more depression in women who have not had adequate labor support. So this can have ramifications that go far beyond the birth experience. When she feels well supported, valued, respected, cared for, nurtured, guided — she feels empowered. And after a birth like that, she’ll say, “I did it.” She knows that she has that strength. I would hope for every woman, however she chooses to give birth, that she comes out of it feeling the sense of power, capability — accomplishment.” (emphasis mine)

That’s what I would hope for too!!!  To me this is a perfect follow up to the birth story I shared yesterday.  And while I know Ms. Simpkin speaks about “every woman” I am painfully reminded, as I work across this country that women of color are less valued, receive less support, are less respected and are devalued during their labor experiences. This is increasingly true if the woman of color is using Medicaid… as if a method of payment is a statement about your humanity.  It’s no wonder women of color, specifically African American women, are more likely to experience post partum depression, among other things.

In FACT…. I just had a conversation with a  woman who had such an experience. Wanted an un-medicated birth. Arrived to hospital at 5/6 cm dilated. Had no one there to support her. Received an epidural. HATED it and now is having a rough time processing her birth experience. Makes me VERY sad I was unable to be there for her.  She is now considering becoming a doula!!!  Are you a woman of color with ANY interest in childbirth and labor support? Let me know. We DESPERATELY need you in our ranks to educate, to support and to help spread the information needed to create a better birthing environment for our girls and women.  But I digress….

Read Penny Simpkin’s entire interview about labor support HERE. It’s a great interview!

In Birth and Love,
Nicole ~
Follow me On Twitter @SistaMidwife

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