{"id":133770,"date":"2023-09-12T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T04:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=133770"},"modified":"2023-09-11T23:22:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T03:22:09","slug":"harvard-research-blames-white-supremacy-capitalism-for-pregnant-black-moms-health-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/harvard-research-blames-white-supremacy-capitalism-for-pregnant-black-moms-health-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard research blames ‘white supremacy,’ ‘capitalism’ for pregnant black moms’ health problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Study: Policy changes needed to ‘dismantle structural racism’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Capitalism, \u201cwhite supremacy,\u201d and \u201cstructural racism\u201d are to blame for the high rate of black maternal health problems in the U.S., according to a new study out of Harvard University.<\/p>\n

The study<\/a>, \u201cA conceptual understanding of the impact of interconnected forms of racism on maternal hypertension through Black Women\u2019s lived experiences,\u201d asserts that black women have disproportionately high maternal mortality and hypertension rates because of systemic racism.<\/p>\n

To solve the problem and \u201ctruly dismantle structural racism … it is absolutely necessary to attend to the underlying ideologies that allow these inequities in resources and opportunities to continue, especially capitalism and white supremacy,” Harvard fellow and lead researcher Brittney Francis wrote in the study, published in August in SSM – Qualitative Research in Health.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Black communities are \u201cplagued by policies and practices, steeped in white supremacist and racial capitalistic ideologies, that directly shape their access to resources and opportunities,” states the study, which primarily came from the FXB Center for Health & Human Rights at Harvard University.<\/p>\n

As a result, black women have higher maternal mortality and hypertension rates, the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n

Asked to explain \u201cracial capitalism,\u201d Francis told The College Fix<\/em> via email it \u201crefers to a capitalistic system\u201d where people are \u201cintentionally exploited and commodified\u201d by the \u201cdominant\u201d racial group to get rich. She\u00a0gave the example of individuals being asked about prior incarceration status in housing and job assistance programs.<\/p>\n

While the Civil Rights Act prohibits explicit racial discrimination, she told The Fix<\/em> that many practices still discriminate by focusing on areas that \u201cdisproportionately impact one racial group over the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause mass incarceration unjustly impacts Black and Hispanic families in the U.S., these families are also really impacted by this policy\/practice more,\u201d Francis said via email to The Fix<\/em> this month. Therefore, asking about prior incarceration \u201cexcludes many families that need immediate assistance with resources during critical times, including pregnancy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Asked to weigh in, one healthcare watchdog organization argued there appears to be flaws with the research methods and conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis \u2018study\u2019 presupposes racism and then seeks evidence in favor of their conclusion. Their approach is a flagrant violation of sound research practice,\u201d Ian Kingsbury, director of research at Do No Harm, told The College Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For the study, researchers asked 20 black women in Connecticut who had a hypertensive disorder during their last pregnancy about their neighborhoods, interactions with healthcare providers, and other \u201cexperiences with structural racism in their daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to asking the women for input, the research team \u201cshared the importance of the study, how it aligned with their personal and professional goals,\u201d and \u201cthe intended purposes of the data after collection.”<\/p>\n

Kingsbury told The College Fix<\/em> these statements likely slanted the participants’ responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe researchers tipped off or even explicitly told the participants what they were hoping to observe,\u201d raising questions of quality assurance and input bias, he said.<\/p>\n

The researchers used the interviews to identify five \u201cdomains of institutional racism\u201d that negatively impacted women’s health, including \u201cenvironmental pollution,\u201d according to the study. For example, some women brought up noise pollution due to \u201cconstant police presence and sirens\u201d in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

The researchers cited two recent studies that found a link between \u201cincreased environmental noise pollution\u201d and preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication, and suggested the same might be true of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Then, they linked pollution to systemic racism, writing that \u201cthe sources and exposure to some of these pollutants may be rooted in inequitable practices and policies at the local, state and federal levels that allow for disparate exposure to toxins, especially in low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the study appears confusing in places. A graphic highlighted in the research, Figure 1, lists 16 areas of concern, but some of the problems mentioned are not discussed in the study. Figure 1 states that \u201cvoter suppression\u201d and \u201cfood apartheid\u201d are among the \u201cpolicies and practices, steeped in white supremacist and racial capitalistic ideologies,\u201d but the study does not mention either.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> pointed out to Francis that \u201cvoter suppression\u201d was mentioned in Figure 1 but not the study itself, and asked how it is significant to her research.<\/p>\n

Francis responded: \u201cWhen district lines are intentionally drawn to limit or skew political power, often based on racial demographics \u2026 or voter ID laws become so restrictive that people who have the right to vote are deemed ineligible, the political power in that community and their ability to vote and advocate for policies that would improve their health is diminished.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Kingsbury told The College Fix<\/em> that some of the study\u2019s assertions about racial inequalities are outright false, including \u201cinequitable education funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother (\u2018inequitable immigration policy\u2019) is just an intellectually incoherent attempt to shoehorn leftist policy preferences into this \u2018study,\u2019\u201d Kingsbury said.<\/p>\n

Francis and the other researchers concluded the study with a call for \u201cholistic policy changes\u201d to address problems with Black maternal health care. They said laws and public policy are key to mitigating \u201cthe health harms caused by structural racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the paper, the researchers extensively discussed racial inequality. However, they limited their study to Black women and did not include data or interviews involving other racial groups to compare inequities.<\/p>\n

Francis told The Fix<\/em> she would consider including non-black participants in future research. She said she would like to see more studies about the effects of racism in racially marginalized communities on maternal outcomes.<\/p>\n

MORE: Pregnant black female math professor set to be fired for refusing COVID vaccine<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: SydraProductions \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

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