• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Pacific Medical Law

A founding member of BILA

Law, Justice And Compassion | Call Today

1-604-685-2361

  • Home
  • Team
  • Injuries
    • Birth Injury
    • Brain Injury
    • Cerebral Palsy
    • Infant & Child Injuries
    • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Janna Epp Bursary
  • Cases Won
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • For Lawyers
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Team
  • Injuries
    • Birth Injury
    • Brain Injury
    • Cerebral Palsy
    • Infant & Child Injuries
    • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Janna Epp Bursary
  • Cases Won
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • For Lawyers
  • Contact
Call
Contact
Blog

Racism, Maternal Deaths and Healthcare Inequality

By Letty Condon | Thursday, September 3, 2020

More than 2 months have passed since the death of George Floyd.  During this time, there have been efforts on an international scale to acknowledge racial injustice and reform systems which allow or encourage racism to persist.  In healthcare, data from the CDC has revealed the startling differences between the risk of dying in pregnancy faced by non-Hispanic black women in the United States when compared to all women in pregnancy.  More recently, data also from the CDC has shown that two thirds of deaths related to pregnancy were considered to be preventable.  In Canada, the story of the preventable death of Brian Sinclair, an Indigenous man who died in a hospital room, shocked the nation in 2008.  Despite more than 10 years having passed since his death, there are examples that Indigenous Peoples face inequitable access to healthcare and racism.

The CDC has recently published data received from 14 Maternal Mortality Review Committees  (MMRCs) who were able to review information related to the health and social factors that affect pregnant women.  Between 2008 and 2017, information related to the deaths of the 1,347 women who died during pregnancy or within a year of delivery was analysed. These committees found that the deaths could have been prevented in two thirds of the cases.  The percentage of deaths that were considered to be preventable did not vary significantly between women of different ethnicities.  However, the data published by the CDC in 2019 shows that the risk of dying during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth for non-Hispanic black women was 40.8 per 100,000 births, 29.7 per 100,000 births for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native women, and overall the mortality rate was 16.7 per 100,000 births.

So why is there a difference in the risk of dying between women of different ethnic backgrounds?  Research has shown that the difference may be partly related to medical conditions that ethnic minority women are more vulnerable to.  However, this biological basis is less clear as there is also a significant difference in the access to healthcare these women have and the quality of care provided is significantly lower.  These differences can influence the impact that any pre-existing medical condition or vulnerability to illness has. 

Racial discrimination may also contribute to the severity of the condition.  For example, death related to high blood pressure in pregnancy was shown in the research by the CDC to affect proportionally more black women than white women.  A study has shown that high blood pressure is more common among those of black ethnicity than white and those who have high blood pressure are more likely to have suffered racism.  Therefore, genetic differences may contribute less than discriminatory attitudes and systems.

These inequalities on the basis of race exist internationally.  Research looking at maternity care in the U.K. has shown that the rates of death faced by women during pregnancy or in the weeks after birth are five times higher for those of Black ethnic backgrounds and twice as high for those of Asian ethnic backgrounds when compared to white women.   Indigenous peoples in New Zealand and Australia face delays in accessing the lifesaving investigation and treatment of heart disease.  

The case of Brian Sinclair in 2008 highlighted the issue of healthcare inequality in Canada, where an Indigenous man with cognitive impairment was left without medical care and attention in the waiting room of an ER for 34 hours.  An interim report looking into his death, published in 2017, identified that Mr. Sinclair was ignored as a result of racism and lack of care for an Indigenous person.  Another report from 2017 reviewed cases in a Saskatoon Health Region hospital where Aboriginal women (this being the way the women described themselves) were coerced into having a surgical sterilization procedure following childbirth.  Jordan River Anderson was a First Nations child born with complex medical needs in Manitoba.  He spent more than 2 years unnecessarily in hospital awaiting a financial decision about the funding for his home care because he was a First Nations child.  He died in hospital without spending a day in his family home.

There are ongoing efforts to address racism in healthcare and physicians in Canada are encouraged to develop their understanding of the barriers faced by those of racial minority groups. There are also physician groups which advocate with and on behalf of affected communities.  There are plans to address healthcare inequalities through Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative. 

The extent to which these initiatives lead to significant changes in the provision of healthcare in Canada remains uncertain. What is certain, however, is that healthcare providers are required as a matter of law, to provide all patients with safe and appropriate medical care regardless of the patient’s racial or ethnic background.  Moreover, positive steps are required to ensure that equitable treatment and care is received by those of racial minority groups.

Share on:
  • Tweet

Posted under: Health News, Legal News, Medical Malpractice

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Accessibility (18)
  • Adult Injuries (21)
  • Cerebral Palsy (61)
  • Cerebral Palsy Association of BC (25)
  • Community Involvement (27)
  • Firm News (55)
  • Health News (70)
  • Legal News (22)
  • Medical Malpractice (25)
  • People with Disabilities (23)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • Understanding Birth Injuries (1)

Archives

  • February 2021 (3)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (4)
  • August 2020 (4)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (2)
  • April 2020 (5)
  • March 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (4)
  • December 2019 (3)
  • October 2019 (3)
  • September 2019 (1)
  • August 2019 (3)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • June 2019 (3)
  • May 2019 (2)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (2)
  • January 2019 (5)
  • December 2018 (3)
  • November 2018 (3)
  • October 2018 (4)
  • September 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (8)
  • July 2018 (8)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • April 2018 (24)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • February 2018 (4)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (2)
  • May 2016 (4)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (4)
  • February 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (1)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • March 2015 (1)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • January 2015 (1)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • December 2013 (2)
  • November 2013 (1)
  • October 2013 (3)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (2)
  • July 2013 (1)
  • June 2013 (7)

Recent Posts

  • The Standard of Care
  • JAUNDICE
  • Pacific Medical Law Teaches at UBC
  • Andrea Donaldson joins the Trial Lawyers’ Association Board of Governors

How Can We Help You?

Contact Us

Footer

Our Office Location

Pacific Medical Law 401 W. Georgia Street Suite 905 B Vancouver, BC V6B 5A1
Toll Free: 604-685-2361 Phone: 604-685-2361 Map & Directions

Copyright © 2021 Sitemap