Chinyere Oparah, Linda Jones, Dantia Hudson, Talita Oseguera and Helen Arega
"Copyright: 2018, ISBN:978-1946665119, Total Pages: 206,
Published by Praeclarus Press."
The report reveals the culture of fear and coercion that has transformed birth into a battleground, a deep lack of trust of our hospitals, and a broken maternal health-care system that fails too many black women. The report shakes up our understanding of where state violence happens, and who it happens to; putting the human rights spotlight onto a system that is often unaccountable to black communities.
Battling Over Birth also provides solutions. The report shares positive experiences by black women, and identifies best practices based on their experiences. It makes a series of recommendations, including community accountability boards to hold hospitals accountable; increased access to midwifery and doula-care; recruitment and training of more health-care professionals of color; culturally-competent, empowering prenatal and postpartum care; greater access to home birth and birth centers; and a sharp reduction in the use of C-sections.
““Battling Over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Health Care Crisis reveals hard truths—powerful findings on the role of racism, coercion, inadequate prenatal care, the pressures undermining breastfeeding, and the lack of access to alternatives to a broken maternal healthcare system as the key threads of Black women’s birth experiences.””
““This book clearly lays out the barriers facing Black families, but it also offers solutions. I think every professional who works with parents and babies of any color should read this book.””
Foreword and Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
Overview and Methods
2.1 History and Methodology
2.2 A Note on Language
2.3 The Context: Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Care
2.4 Initiatives to Improve Maternal Health in California
A Human Rights Framework
Prenatal Care
4.1 Experiences of Prenatal Care
4.2 Barriers to Prenatal Care: Health Insurance
4.3 Barriers to Prenatal Care: Relationships with Medical Practitioners
4.4 Lack of Culturally-Competent Care and Distrust of Medical Advice
4.5 Stress, Pregnancy and the “Strong Black Woman” syndrome
4.6 Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Resiliency
4.7 Midwifery Model of Care
Characteristics of Midwifery Prenatal Care Obstacles to Midwifery Care
Race, Midwifery and Midwives of Color
4.8 Conclusions
Relationship with Maternal Health Care Providers
5.1 Characteristics of Positive Relationships
Emotional and psychological support
Respect for the pregnant individuals’ values, beliefs and choices Competency and effectiveness
5.2 Characteristics of Negative Relationships
Refusal to listen to women’s wisdom about their bodies
Not respecting women’s boundaries or bodily autonomy Stereotyping based on race, class, age, sexuality and marital status Suppressing advocacy and self-advocacy
5.3 Conclusions
Home, Hospital or Birth Center?
6.1 Choosing Hospital Birth
6.2 Negative Beliefs about Hospital Birth
6.3 Home Birth: Perceptions and Obstacles
6.4 Experiences of Home Birth
6.5 Birth Centers
6.6 Is Hospital Birth Safer?
Labor, Birthing and Delivery
7.1 Disproportionate Mortality and The Culture of Fear
7.2 Attitudes Toward Physiologic or “Natural” Birth
7.3 The Birth Plan
7.4 Due Dates and Labor Induction
Pitocin: The “Devil’s Juice”?
Alternative Labor Induction
7.5 Managing Labor Pain
“Pain with a Purpose”: Attitudes Toward Labor Pain Strategies for Dealing with Labor Pain
7.6 Doula Care and Comfort Measures
7.7 Pain Medications
7.8 Cesarean Delivery
The Overuse of Cesareans
Cesarean for Complicated Labor Recovery and Bonding after Cesarean
The First Six Weeks
8.1 Between Isolation and Tradition: Postpartum Recovery
8.2 Postpartum Difficulties
Physical recovery
Mental and Emotional Challenges
Systemic Racism-Sexism and Economic Injustice
8.3 Breastfeeding: Attitudes, Barriers and Motivations
Participants Attitudes toward Breastfeeding
Community Attitudes towards Breastfeeding
Motivations for Breastfeeding
8.4 Conclusions
Recommendations
