In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, no matter their education or income level.  Similarly, Black babies die twice as often as white babies in the first year of life. 

On May 10, 2023, the New York Times explored some of the reasons for these tragic disparities in an excellent article entitled, “Unwanted Epidurals, Untreated Pain: Black Women Tell Their Birth Stories.”  In the article, several middle-class Black women describe the poor treatment they received from medical staff during childbirth.  The article describes how Black patients’ pain is dismissed and treatment plans are disregarded due to racist assumptions.  And it describes how racism and racist stereotyping cause lasting damage to women’s health, including effects on mental health, blood pressure, susceptibility to diabetes, and longevity.

One of the reasons for racial differences in health outcomes is differences in access to health care.  Access to health care in New Rochelle should improve dramatically in the next few months with the opening of the new Sun River Health Center on Lawton Avenue.  This federally-subsidized health center will provide excellent primary health care to anyone who needs it, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.  New RoAR News will provide further information on this new health care resource as its opening day approaches.