The Power Of Communication. - by Malaika Kusumi
The mortality statistics for black females are depressing. Sometimes you want to close your eyes to the facts and hope it all turns out well. However, not facing the facts and talking about these things is a mistake. What you don’t know can and will hurt you, and chances are you cut your chances of good outcomes by 50 percent.
It’s a sad fact; black mothers and even black mothers-to-be face having to have that hard conversation - racism. If you think that this conversation begins at pre-teen, teen, or young adulthood, you have another think coming. Surprisingly it should start earlier, much earlier. In fact, that conversation has to begin with the woman in the mirror while she is pregnant.
How will systemic medical racism negatively impact my pregnancy and my unborn child’s life? How will my reluctance to unearth hidden traces of racism in my medical experience impair my pregnancy? If you have chosen a doctor of non-color, you need to muster up the courage and compassionate wisdom to frame it in a mutually enlightening and beneficial way. If you have chosen a doctor of color, have the same conversation. Knowledge is power, and the more control you have, the safer and better you and your unborn child will feel and be.
Communication is more than just talking. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” (George Bernard Shaw) So be brave, face the facts and have that hard conversation with yourself and your health provider.
Read our post about Black Maternal Health Week HERE
#BlackMaternalHealth #Racism #SystemicRacism #Motherhood #Pregnancy #PowerOfCommunication #DemsAbroad #GlobalBlackCaucus