For Black History Month, MIDIRS is taking a look back at authors published in our Midwifery Digest to shine a spotlight on black authors with a plethora of specialisms, interests and passions. Below, we have listed just a few of our favourites with their abstracts and a download link. We hope you join us in celebrating this month.
Exposing racial bias in midwifery education: a content analysis of images and text in Myles Textbook for Midwives
Mairi Harkness, Chlorice Wallace
‘Race is well documented as a key factor in perinatal outcomes for women and babies. In the UK, Black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth and Black babies have a 121 per cent increased risk of stillbirth and a 50 per cent increased risk of neonatal death when compared to babies of White ethnicity (Draper et al 2018, Knight et al 2020). Serious morbidity is far higher in all groups of women and babies who do not identify as White (Lindquist et al 2013, Draper et al 2018). The reasons for this are multiple, complex and poorly understood.’
MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, vol 32, no 3, September 2022, pp 305-310.
Under-representation of Black women in UK research
Sarah Esegbona-Adeigbe
‘A recent UK report, Black Maternal Health (House of Commons 2023), stated that Black women are under-represented in research and therefore in policymaking. This is concerning, as maternal mortality reports highlight that Black women in the UK have been at increased risk of dying in childbirth compared to white women since 2000 (Knight 2022). Racial health disparities for Black mothers have been stated for decades and research is vital in identifying the possible causes. Strategies to improve Black women’s participation in research are needed to discover and address the issues that contribute to maternal mortality.’
MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, vol 33, no 4, December 2023, pp 306-308.
Promoting women’s health and well-being for black women
Katie Jones
‘Without proactively researching the history of black pregnant women and slavery the true extent of suffering endured may not be apparent. For example, slaveholding surgeon Francois Marie Prevost pioneered caesarean sections by experimenting on black enslaved women (Owens & Fett 2019). This is a small insight to demonstrate how the obstetric and gynaecological fields are indebted to black enslaved women. Furthermore, during the Windrush era in the 1940s and 1950s, men and women of African descent migrated to the United Kingdom (UK) to help rebuild the post-war economy, with a significant number of women being recruited into the health care sector (Nayar 2016). Despite the deep debt of gratitude, and reflecting on the cruelty and hardship women faced, a vast disparity between races is still ingrained in all areas of society today (Achiume 2018).’
MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, vol 31, no 1, March 2021, pp 51-55.
