Pregnant While Black

Racism is dangerous for moms and babies. But there’s a surprisingly simple and effective way to minimize the risk.

 

- Kiera Butler

AT THE END OF a long day in January 2011, Brittney Bruster, 28 years old and eight months pregnant, lay down on her sofa to rest. A few minutes later, she was swept by a wave of nausea, followed by a mighty urge to push. She called 911, but “by the time they got there,” she recalls, “I had had her in my sweatpants.” Bruster, who had given birth to four children, was rushed to a hospital in Greenville, South Carolina, with her premature daughter, Tianna, who weighed just five pounds and four ounces.

Of all the dangers facing newborn babies, the most dire is coming into the world early. Despite rapid advances in neonatal intensive care technology, nearly 70 percent of newborn deaths in the United States are the result of premature birth. African American women like Bruster have long been at the highest risk for early delivery. Between 2013 and 2015, more than 13 percent of African American babies were preterm, compared with about 9 percent of babies of other races. Black moms are also far more likely to die from birth-related complications. These disparities persist even when you factor in age, income, and the quality of prenatal care. So what’s going on? Recent research has identified one likely culprit: chronic stress related to racism.