Studies have confirmed that many doctors often either don’t hear Black women or see their pain. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Black women are underrepresented in clinical trials that require consent and are overrepresented in studies that do not. Black women simply are not receiving the same quality of healthcare that our white counterparts receive. I had been warned about the racism in healthcare, so I knew it was my responsibility to fight for my health when doctors failed to.
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I’ve lived in this body for over 27 years. I know when something is wrong. I’d always heard stories about Black women feeling unheard, unseen, misunderstood and misdiagnosed. I’d read article after article about Black women being ignored in healthcare. I watched a documentary about one of the world’s greatest athletes — Serena Williams — nearly dying during childbirth because our healthcare system refuses to listen to Black women. So I would not take “no” for an answer.
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As COVID-19 brings the world to a stop, while demands to end police brutality, anti-Black racism and lynchings echo through not only our country but the world, we must also reflect on where the two epidemics collide. How is it that no matter the social class, wealth or access to healthcare, Black mothers in the U.S. are likely to die at three to four times the rate of white mothers? How are Black people more likely to die from COVID? There are so many stereotypes and assumptions in healthcare about Black women in particular that lead to critical and deadly outcomes. Throughout this three-year process of discovery, I’ve shared my health issues with many demographics. Every Black woman I shared my experiences with told me I had to take charge of my healthcare and be an advocate for my well-being. They told me that many doctors do not care about cries from Black women. And that breaks my heart. A distrust in a system built to protect and save lives shouldn’t be a theme in every American industry, and yet here we are.
Read more from the author’s powerful account here.
AMIRA LEWALLY, “As a Black woman, I had to beg doctors to take me seriously when my brain was leaking,” LA Times (October 30, 2020), https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-10-30/amira-lewally-i-begged-doctors-to-take-me-seriously-when-my-brain-was-leaking.
If you have experienced discrimination in the health care setting, call the Health Consumer Alliance for free and confidential help: (888) 804‑3536.
