Episode 1: Implicit Bias
Implicit bias causes African American women to experience more stress throughout their lifetimes, which adversely affects their health. Their reproductive health may also be affected; social and demographic biases have been shown to affect practitioners’ recommendations for long-acting reversible contraceptive methods. During labor, African American women tend to be offered pain medication later than are white women. In addition, African Americans are less likely to be diagnosed and appropriately treated for heart disease, which is a leading cause of maternal death, both before and after delivery. Postpartum depression and anxiety are also under-diagnosed and undertreated in African American women.
In episode one, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, former City of Houston Poet Laureate, shares her pregnancy and birth story of her son, where she was dismissed. Dr. Carla Ortique, Healthcare Specialist and Co-Chair of IMH Houston, sheds light on the role that implicit bias plays in maternal mortality and morbidities.
Mothers First is a project of Improving Maternal Health Houston in partnership with Houston Public Media and is supported by Houston Endowment.
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