Black Women Affected By Medicine
Author: Sydney Bell
Sydney Bell is a double major with molecular and cellular biology and Spanish. She is active in her community by volunteering at her local hospital and volunteering as an EMS. She currently works in a research lab covering molecular biology and the environment. In her free time, Sydney enjoys playing in her campus band, learning French, and attending Environmental Science events.
The topic of race is extremely prevalent in medicine. This statement was magnified after shadowing Dr. Nwabuobi. His own experience with realizing how Black women are affected through high maternal mortality rates has inspired me to reflect. In the past, I had not given any thought to oncology or gynecology. Dr. Nwabuobi’s personal journey to gynecology had sparked a realization that I did not have before. As a Black female from a predominantly minority area, I have seen firsthand some of the ramifications that Black women face. Dr. Nwabuboi’s shadowing experience showed me that when Black or other minority women give birth, it should not be a luxury for them or their newborn to live– it should be a right.
Those healthcare disparities are a result of not understanding the context and paths of minority patients. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, out of 100,00 live births, Non-Hispanic Black women are the highest race/ethnicity group for pregnancy-related mortality ratio. This maternal mortality rate can be addressed by acknowledging public health amongst minority communities. The healthcare system has to intertwine medicine and society to strive towards positive change for Black women during and post-pregnancy.
To better my own community of Black women, I plan to work with minority women. I feel that after seeing racism in my own community, the world needs more physicians who are activists and healers for minority communities. Shadowing with Dr. Nwabuobi has given me insight into what life is like as a Black undergraduate student from a minority community navigating life in pre-medicine. His journey through understanding the maternal mortality rate of Black and minority women has allowed me to reflect on my own pre-medicine journey.
