African American Infant Mortality Research Paper

In conclusion, the authors research on pregnant African American women’s attitudes towards perinatal depression prevention (2013) may have open other avenues and reduce barriers and enhance the engagement in preventive intervention. The findings in this study sought out to explain why low-income African American pregnant women do not receive the same health care that other communities might. It answered questions like; do pregnant women refuse to take pharmacotherapy because they are afraid the baby will be harmed? Is their perception of certain approaches different from pregnant women of a different race or ethnicity? Or are these methods being hidden from the poor to be utilized only on the rich? When reading the critique of the article evaluated you were able to understand how well the authors analyzed each aspect by using qualitative and quantitative research and how it helped them find their results.

Black midwives were common, and carried the responsibility of delivering infants from both slave mothers and white mothers. Due to the lack of sterilization and knowledge of pathogens, the infant mortality rate was high, and physicians blamed black midwives for purposefully killing children, even though the practices of physicians were not any healthier (Kiple 2). Having the responsibility of a midwife in the Antebellum South was not an easy process since many children would die, but the process was even more difficult for the mother delivering the child. Typically, the birth of a child is seen as a wonderful occasion, however, in the South, pregnancy and childbirth caused fear, not only for the mother, but for her family as well. Many complications such as puerperal(a deadly infection in the uterus), the inability to breastfeed the child, and prolapse of the uterus were symptoms a mother could experience after childbirth, which would ultimately end with her death, or her child’s death (Sullivan 24). The medical practices in the South were inadequate and inefficient to support prenatal and birthing needs, therefore, it caused a sufficient amount of deaths between mothers and children during this period of

In Killing the Black Body, Dorothy Roberts describes the history of African-American women and the dehumanizing attempts to control their reproductive lives. Beginning with slavery, to the early beginning of birth control policy, to the sterilization abuse of Black women during the 1960s and 1970s, continuing with the current campaign to inject Norplant and Depo-Provera along with welfare mothers, Roberts argues that the systematic, institutionalized denial of reproductive freedom has uniquely marked Black women’s history in America.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that many people still are trying to figure out why it happens to these babies. This syndrome is described as an unexplained death of an infant younger than one year of age. SIDS is frightening because it can strike without warning and affect a good, healthy infant. Most SIDS deaths occur at night and without warning. SIDS victims may have been down for sleep for as little as ten minutes, they show signs of struggle or suffering. Although SIDS is commonly associated with an infants sleep time, and often occurs in the crib. This event is not limited to the crib and may occur anywhere the infant is sleeping, deaths have occurred in

In the Low Country area of South Carolina( Allendale, Bamberg, Hampton, and Orangeburg counties), African American women have been linked with low birth weight babies. Within the low country black babies are born at a low birth weight more frequently than babies of any other ethnic group. The Low Country Healthy Start program is designed to eliminate disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes and quality of life in African American women. A process evaluation will be conducted in order to define the risk associated with chronic disease, recognize who is high risk, what services are provided by LCHS, who receive these services, and if the services provided are efficient.

Infant mortality rate constitutes the death of a baby before their first birthday. Mortality rates around the world differ tremendously with America leading the first world countries at an alarming rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 births. Conversely, Finland and Japan secure the last, most desirable position, with deaths totaling 2.3 per 1,000 births, as of 2010. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) In 2014, over 23,000 babies died in the United States. (CDC, 2016) Exploring the mortality rates in America brings light to a dire need for additional interventions and research as to why this developing nation has the highest rate of infant deaths before the age of 1 year old. African Americans face the worst outcomes of infant death compared to whites, Latino, and their Native American peers in North Carolina. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) This paper will explore why African American are the leading race for infant mortality and the steps that health communities need to take to address this devastating occurrence.

Discuss disparities related to ethnic and cultural groups relative to low birth weight infants and preterm births.

Poverty stricken women are forced to live in communities with high crime and drug activity, increased unemployment and poor education school system. These adversities affect African American women at larger degrees throughout her lifetime. African American women are more likely to become a teen mother compared to other groups of women (Ukockis, 2016). This will place her at risks for economic hardships and physical, mental and emotional abuse.

In the United States alone, the mortality rate among black infants is more than double the number of white infants in targeted urban areas in New York City ("Racism-induced stress linked with high black infant mortality rates," 2017). These numbers are continuing to increase as more and more evidence suggests that some of the significant causes are stress and anxiety amongst black mother’s due to racial discrimination and social factors. Researchers have sought out other possible explanations for why the black infant mortality rate is so high – such as drinking, obesity, poor eating habits, smoking, or access to prenatal care. However, none of the factors examined, combined or separate, were found to be substantial enough to fully account for

One aspect that has been analyzed in studies is that African American women adopt a very protective role when it comes to their children, specifically to protect them from racism (Jackson, F. M., Phillips, M. T., Rowland Hogue, C. J., & Curry-Owens, T. Y., 2001). This role can be adopted during and after pregnancy, which then leads to immense stress. When this co-occurs with gendered racism, experienced at work or other social interactions, it can provide for a very stressful response. African American women also have been reported to, as compared to white women, have greater responses in systolic blood pressure and slower diastolic blood pressure recovery in response to psychological challenges. Some might argue that this is only applicable in African American women who lack education or are not well off financially, however many studies have revealed that Black college-educated women have higher rates of PTB than their white college-educated counterparts (Schoendorf et al., 1992).

associations in a pathway model connecting race-based discrimination, stress, and negative preterm birth outcomes in African American women.

Pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood is a time in a women’s life that is full of varying emotions. Some are excited and hopeful while others are worried and careful. Either way, the moment you hold your newborn for the first time, there is a new sense of purpose women often feel. A heightened sense to nurture and protect. During slavery, that was not always the case for most if not all enslaved women. In a time where oppression, discrimination and sadistic acts of violence and terror were casted upon enslaved Africans in America; women were merged into specific gender roles and expectations. White and black women were not seen equally. Societal views created a margin of how the world perceived white and black women in all aspects of life including: motherhood, work and their roles as a wife.

“Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life”(Giscombé, C. L., & Lobel, M., 2005). The infant mortality rate for African Americans is 13.7 deaths per 1000 live births, more than twice the rate (5.7) for White Americans in the U.S. (Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008). A lot of the racial disparity in infant mortality can be explained by low birthweight and preterm delivery, which are also disproportionately and often experienced by African Americans (Martin et al., 2007).

According to Healthy People 2020, "Improving the well-being of mothers, infants, and children, is an important public health goal for the United States. Their well-being determines the health of the next generation and can help predict future public health challenges for families, communities, and the health care system" (Healthy People 2020, 2015). Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before his or her first birthday, while fetal mortality is defined as the intrauterine death of a fetus at any gestational age (MMRW, 2013 and MacDorman, Kirmeyer & Wilson, 2012). In the United States an estimated 13,000 fetal deaths occurred ≥ 28 weeks gestation making up 28% of all perinatal deaths in 2006, the latest year with available national data (Lee,

In his article, "Why are so many U.S. women dying during childbirth?", Munz (2012) pointed out that U.S. is experiencing a rise in maternal mortality. It has doubled for the last 25 years and the experts are uncertain about the increase. Experts are not entirely clear for the rise in the maternal deaths in the U.S., but there are some aspects that may be link to this.