Maternal, infant mortality rates higher among Black women

ACTION NEWSAS WE DIVE INTO THISTOPIC OF BIAS -- WEWANTED TO LOOK AT BIASWITHIN HEALTH CARE.AND WE FOUND ASTARTLING STATISTIC:BLACK WOMEN ARE TWOTO THREE TIMES MORELIKELY TO DIE DURINGCHILDBIRTH THAN WHITEWOMEN.LOOKING AT THENUMBERS LOCALLY...IN KANSAS.... OF THOSEWOMEN WHO DIE DUE TOPREGNANCY RELATEDCAUSES...70 PER 100,000ARE BLACK.COMPARE THAT TO WHITEWOMEN WHO ACCOUNTFOR 22 PER 100,000.IN MISSOURI THENUMBERS ARE EVENHIGHER.92 PER 100,000 DEATHSINVOLVE BLACK WOMEN...VERSUS 22 FOR WHITEWOMEN.THE INCREASED RATE ISSIMILAR FOR INFANTMORTALITY.BLACK BABIES ARE TWOTO THREE TIMES MORELIKELY TO DIE AT BIRTH.WHILE THERE ARE ANUMBER OF FACTORSTHAT PLAY INTO THESESTATISTICS... SOMEEXPERTS AND ADVOCATESPOINT TO BIAS INHEALTHCARE AS BEING ACONTRIBUTING FACTOR.AND IT'S NOT JUSTAFRICAN AMERICANS...LATINA AND INDIGINOUSWOMEN AREDISPROPORTIONALLYAFFECTED, TOO.41 ACTION NEWS ANCHORCAITLIN KNUTE HAS THESTORIES OF TWO WOMENWHO SAY BIAS LEFT THEIRLIVES FOREVER CHANGED.ALTHOUGH IT'S BEENEIGHT YEARS..

WICHITAMOM SAPPHIRE GARCIA-LIES CAN STILL REMEMBERTHE EXCITEMENTSURROUNDING THE BIRTHOF HER SECONDDAUGTHER, ELLA.Sapphire Garcia-Lies, Mother:"Everything had goneperfectly fine with mypregnancy and then I got to 381/2 weeks and I noticed shewasn't moving as much."GARCIA-LIES SAYS SHEVISITED HER DOCTOR ANDSHARED HER CONCERN,ONLY TO BE TOLD THATWAS NORMAL.SO..

DESPITE A NAGGINGSUSPICION... SHERETURNED HOME..

ONLYTO SEEK OUT A SECONDOPINION AT THE HOSPITALTWO DAYS LATERSapphire:"They did a sonogram andthey couldn't find a heartbeat.She had passed away inutero, and it turns out that shehad her cord wrapped upseveral times around her neckand her blood supply had cutoff.HEARTBROKEN ANDDEVASTATED....SHEDELIVERED ELLA..KNOWING THERE WOULDBE NO FIRST BREATH, NOFIRST CRY.HOLDING HER STILLBORNDAUGTHER, SHE RECALLSWONDERING IF HER DEATHCOULD HAVE BEEPREVENTED, HAD THEDOCTOR TAKEN HERCONCERNS SERIOUSLY.SAPPHI: and if they had caught that intime when she was stillmoving some then I think thashe probably could've beensaved."RESEARCH SHOWSWOMEN OF COLOR AREMORE LIKELY TOEXPEREINCE BIAS INHEALTHCARE.SOME EXPERTS SAY THIDATES BACK TO THE 1800SWHEN JAMES SIMS..

OFTENREFERRED TO AS THEFATHER OF OBGYN..PERFORMEDEXPERIMENTAL SURGERIESON ENSLAVED WOMENWITHOUT ANESTHESIA.Sharla Smith, PhD:"So ,historically, what thathas done is that has created abias that black women cantake more pain, that they arestronger.DR. SHARLA SMITH ISASSISTANT PROFESSORWITH THE UNIVERSITY OFKANSAS SCHOOL OFMEDICINE WHO PRESENTSTHIS VERY TOPIC TOLOCAL MEDICALPROVIDERS.SHE SHARES STORIES LIKETHESE... SHOWINGDOCTORS, NURSES ANDMEDICAL STUDENTS HOWWOMEN FEEL THEIRCONCERNS WEREN'TTAKEN SERIOUSLY,BECAUSE OF THEIR SKINCOLOR.Smith:"because there's thismisperception that if you'reblack, if you're from aparticular community, you'renot educated.

You don't havehealth insurance.

You don'thave a job.

And so you don'thave the knowledge toactually know how to take careof yourselves."FOR KANSAS CITY MOMIZULA MAXIMILLEN..

SHE'SCONVINCED THIS BIASPREVENTED HOSPITALSTAFF FROM TAKING HERSERIOUSLY WHEN SHEWENT TO THE EMERGENCYROOM, SUSPECING HERINTENSE PAIN WAS THERESULT OF ANOTHERECTOPIC PREGNANCY.Izula: "When I spoke to theadmissions officer I told himthat I was pregnant that I'vehad ectopic pregnancies in thepast and I'm having one rightnow and he told me to go eatand sit down."ACCORDING TO THE MAYOCLINIC..

ECTOPICPREGNANCIES... WHERE AFERTILIZED EGG IMPLANTSIN THE FALLOPIAN TUBE....CAN CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING BLEEDING.BUT... MAXIMILLEN SAYSBESIDES SUBJECTING HERTO A DRUG TEST... SHEWAITED 4 TO 5 HOURS,FLOATING IN AND OUT OFCONSCIOUSNESS, UNTILBLOODWORK CAME BACKSHOWING SHE HAD SEPIS.Izul: "and now they wanted to doan ultrasound and figure outwhat was going on, and whenthey did the ultrasound theywere able to confirm that therewas a burst in my fallopiantubeSHE'D LOST HALF HERBLOOD SUPPLY DUE TINTERNAL BLEEDING ANDWAS RUSHED INTOSURGERY, BUT NOTBEFORE SHE FIRST SAIDGOODBYE TO HER YOUNGSON.Izula"I do remember him sayingthat he loved me and metelling him that I left him andbeing concerned it was goingto be the last time that I sawhim."AFTER THE SURGERY...SHE RECALLS OPENINGHER EYES WITH A SENSEOF PURPOSE..

VOWING TOSHARE HER STORY TOHELP OTHERS.THESE ARE JUST SOMETHE STORIES BEINGSHARED WITH DOCTORSHERE IN MISSOURI AKANSAS, AND THEY'VECAUGHT THE ATTENTIONOF THE American college ofobstetricians andgynecologists, OR ACOG.Colleen McNicholas, obgyn anfellow of ACOG: "So what I would say tothese folks who are sharintheir stories is that I believeyou and that ACOG believesthat this is a problem withinour own practice and thelarger system of healthcareand wellness."DR. COLLEEN MCNICHOLASADDS WHILE EDUCATIONAND ACCOUNTABILITY AREA NECESSARY STEP..THERE'S MORE THATNEEDS TO BE DONE ON ALARGER LEVEL.DR MCNICHOLAS"You know simple thingsexpanding Medicaid havingaccess to preventative carelooking at what access in ruralcommunities looks like, forexample."THAT'S WHERE UZAZIVILLAGE... A NON PROFIT INKANSAS CITY HELPS FILLTHE GAPS.Hakima Payne, Uzazi Village"What we're trying to do isreverse those health outcometrends and help ourcommunity families havehealthier pregnancies andhealthier babies."UZAZI VILLAGE WORKSDIRECTLY WITH WOMENAND FAMILIES..

OFFERINGTHEM EDUCATION,RESOURCES, ANDSUPPORT..

INCLUDINGPROVIDING EXPECTANTMOMS WITH DOULAS.Hakima:a Doula is a professional laborsupport person or aprofessional labor coachexcept that our Doula's arealso trained to work withwomen during their pregnancyand in their postpartumperiods.FOR GARCIA-LIES..

IT'SSERVICE SHE KNOWSWELLSHE BECAME A DOULAAFTER LOSING ELLA.... ALLSO SHE COULD BETTERADVOCATE FOR WOMENOF COLOR AND THEIRBABIES.Sapphire: "I've seen clear-cut caseswhere the work I do as aDoula has paid off with abetter outcome for the mom orthe baby."IT'S A FIGHT TO HELPOTHERS THAT KEEPS HEMOTIVATED..

AND HELPSKEEPS ELLA'S MEMORYALIVE.CAITLIN KNUTE, 41 AC