These stories in the news around Black maternal health always hit home for me.  I have publicly shared my pregnancy ordeal and how horrible racism is in the medical community when women are most vulnerable. It wasn’t the first time I experienced medical racism but there is something really terrifying about experiencing it while you have precious cargo onboard.

And I have also been open about my experiences in recent years of having conversations with other women across racial lines and having that discussion rudely interrupted because we were not thinking about men’s feelings.

Please, women are dying because we are not heard. Never interrupt women talking about female health. These conversations are life-savers for women and girls who may be listening in somewhere. 

We used to learn so much from Oprah about women’s health. Now that she is retired we learn by listening to other women elsewhere.  I heard someone say the other day, “Thank God for Lupita (Nyong’o)” whose social media spaces are giving her more information about fibroids than she has ever gotten anywhere else. 

The only thing about circling up with women is someone in the group will always remind you to center men and decenter yourself. Even when you just take a little break to focus on an experience naturally exclusive to women.

Never interrupt women to tell us to focus on men. The medical community focuses on the needs of many men quite well. No group of women has yet to report the same. 

1. Their pain or symptoms are dismissed immediately.

Black women report being told:

• “That’s normal.”

• “You’re overreacting.”

• “It’s just anxiety.”

• “You’re fine.”

even when they’re experiencing:

• shortness of breath

• headaches

• swelling

• bleeding

• severe pain

• clear warning signs of preeclampsia

Dismissal is one of the first and most dangerous signs. 

Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, founder of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, stresses that disrespect, interruption, and condescension are not personality issues — they are manifestations of racism in care delivery.

2. Their concerns are minimized or distorted.

Instead of listening, providers:

• interrupt

• change the subject

• look annoyed

• rush the conversation

• try to “reassure” instead of investigate

Reassurance without examination is not care.
It’s avoidance.

The Black Mamas Matter Alliance warns that ignoring early symptoms is one of the most common pathways to severe complications and preventable deaths.

3. They’re spoken to in a condescending or scolding tone.

Black women often report being talked to like:

• they’re incompetent

• they can’t understand

• they’re “difficult”

• they’re causing trouble by advocating

Tone is a diagnostic tool.
It tells you how they truly see you.

The Black Mamas Matter Alliance warns that ignoring early symptoms is one of the most common pathways to severe complications and preventable deaths.

4. Their medical history is ignored.

Black women describe providers:

• not reading the chart

• missing key information

• failing to note past complications

• ignoring previous losses or trauma

This carelessness is deadly.

5. They’re accused of exaggerating or “seeking attention.”

Black women repeatedly report being told:

• “It can’t be that bad.”

• “You don’t look like you’re in pain.”

• “Other patients handle this just fine.”

This is rooted in racist beliefs about Black women having higher pain tolerance.

6. Their vital signs are brushed off.

Women report:

• high blood pressure being dismissed

• concerning labs being downplayed

• “come back later” instead of immediate care

Black women know when something is off.
Not being believed is a danger sign.

Dr. Crear-Perry notes that this reflects a deeper problem:
Black women are not treated as credible narrators of their own bodies.

7. They’re pressured into interventions without explanation.

Examples:

• unnecessary inductions

• C-sections without informed consent

• continuous monitoring without discussion

• refusal to let them labor in preferred positions

Coercion is a form of disrespect and risk.

BMMA calls these “obstetric power imbalances,” deeply rooted in the historic removal of Black midwives and community birth keepers.

8. They’re punished for advocating for themselves.

“Why doesn’t she speak up for herself?”

Black women report that before & after they speak up:

• nurses become colder, short, insulting 

• doctors get defensive, short, insulting

• notes in the chart shift

• they are labeled “noncompliant” or “difficult”

• it seems like the staff is tolerating your presence rather than providing care
• Nurses and staff start telling you that you are keeping them from other patients or going home. (You are an inconvenience.)

Advocacy should never reduce the quality of care — but for Black women, it often does.

Dr. McLemore frequently cites this as a form of punitive care — a subtle but dangerous retaliation when Black women assert bodily autonomy.

9. Their partner or support person is ignored.

Providers:

• don’t explain anything

• talk only to staff

• refuse to answer questions

• treat supportive partners like nuisances

This isolation increases risk.

10. They feel emotionally unsafe.

A deep, intuitive knowing rises inside.
Black women often speak of:

• feeling invisible

• feeling silenced

• feeling disrespected

• feeling like a burden

• feeling fear, even if they can’t name why

That intuition is valid.
It is ancestral.
And it saves lives.

BMMA identifies emotional unsafety as an essential early signal — a warning that the care environment itself is not trustworthy.

11. They’re rushed through appointments.

Short visits mean:

• no questions

• no education

• no monitoring

• no time to assess risk factors

Rushing = negligence.

12. They are not given options.

Black women repeatedly say:

• “No one told me the risks.”

• “No one explained my choices.”

• “Things happened to me, not with me.”

Lack of informed consent is a major warning sign.

What These Experts Remind Us

Dr. Joia Crear-Perry teaches that racism — not Black bodies — is the risk factor.
Dr. Monica McLemore shows that even healthy, insured, educated Black women face life-threatening neglect in hospitals.
The Black Mamas Matter Alliance warns that Black women are harmed long before the emergency — in the silencing, the rushing, the disrespect, the disbelief.

Together, these leaders offer one unified warning:

Listen to Black women the first time.
Respect Black women the first time.
Believe Black women the first time.

Because the danger doesn’t begin with the crisis —
it begins with the dismissal.

Black women feel unheard, unprotected, and disrespected — long before the crisis.**