It is repeatedly brought to the attention of Black women that they are not afforded the same considerations as white women while pregnant or following childbirth.
Ariana McGee, a mother of four, nearly lost her third child in 2020 due to medical negligence. Her state of residence at this time was Indiana, which had the third-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation as of 2022, according to research by Indiana University.
In an exclusive interview with AfroTech, McGee recalls the difficult time period and remembers feeling extra cautious when communicating with doctors due to having had previous C-sections. Additionally, it was tough for her to feel secure during her pregnancy journey since most of her appointments were virtual.
“I am a mom of four. When I was pregnant with our third baby, it was during the height of COVID,” she express to AfroTech. “I needed all these extra touchpoints with my doctors because I was considered a high-risk pregnancy due to previous C-sections, but my appointments were forced to be virtual. It made me think ‘this could be a problem if something were to go really wrong.’”
McGee would later go into labor two days before her due date. She was greeted by an on-call doctor who didn’t validate her concerns.
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