July is Disability Pride Month! Today, we’re exploring the relationship between disability justice and Black maternal health.
According to The Center for American Progress, “reproductive and disability justice are both human rights-based frameworks that, at their core, share fundamental similarities: They both prioritize the right to bodily autonomy and self-determination; the right to raise children—if one chooses to have them—with dignity and in a safe environment; the right to access the health care one needs, free from political interference or stigmatization; and the right to community care.” Disability justice is a response to a long history of disabled people and people of color facing forced sterilization, institutionalization, and increased barriers to competent and respectful health care.
In the United States, Black women are more likely to have a disability than white adults, with 35% of Black women being disabled. At the same time, people with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse maternal health outcomes and 11 times more likely to face maternal mortality than people who do not have a disability.
For Black women and birthing people who have disabilities, finding competent care (and a way to access that care) during pregnancy can be difficult. Not only do many Black women and birthing people face racial discrimination while seeking health care during their pregnancies; many providers also lack knowledge and confidence in managing a pregnancy that may be affected by a physical, intellectual, or emotional mental disability. Women and birthing people with disabilities may also face barriers to accessible transportation to their appointments and health care facilities may not be accessible or accommodating to their disability. Additionally, people with disabilities encounter barriers to reproductive health care, including maternal care, abortion care, and contraceptives. Additional data is needed to understand the full scope of the issue, as well as to make
policy recommendations. The National Partnership for Women & Families recommends the following:
- “Decision makers must commit to collecting standardized data on disability status, in addition to disaggregated race/ethnicity (with subgroups) and sexual orientation and gender identity data, as well as how these identities interact with each other, so that we can understand and solve for inequalities and their root causes.”
- “Hospital leaders should assess their current capability to effectively and respectfully serve specific groups of people who wish to become pregnant, are currently pregnant, or have recently given birth, including people with disabilities. Hospital systems should allocate the necessary budgets to improve institutional readiness and accessibility to exemplary maternity services.”
Disability has been a too-often neglected topic in conversations on Black maternal health. This Disability Pride Month, we encourage you to learn more about disability justice and its connections to Black women and pregnant people. The Center for American Progress’ series on Black Women and Girls With Disabilities is a great place to start.
