In a Narrative Matters essay featured in the October issue of Health Affairs, Alexis Grant-Panting, a PhD student at Texas Woman’s University, documents her experience as a Black woman giving birth in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against the background of statistics that show that Black women are 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth than White women, Grant-Panting writes about feeling ignored, belittled, and unprotected by her doctors.

After refusing certain recommendations from her doctor, she was ultimately labeled "uncooperative" in her medical notes.

Grant-Panting writes about the difficulties Black women experience in exercising their bodily autonomy.

She concludes her essay by advocating for culturally competent, community-based care models that provide holistic care for pregnant people and prioritize Black birthing people’s needs and experiences.

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.

Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.

Copyright © Project HOPE: The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.
Health Affairs, 1220 19th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036, United States

Privacy Policy

To unsubscribe from this email, update your email preferences here.