A panel of local community leaders discuss African-American material health issues at the Frieson Black Cultural Center. Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.
The Knox Birth Equity Alliance collaborated with the UT One Knox Initiative and the Humanities Center to present a Think-Tank Thursday night.
The panel addressed obstacles to the well-being of Black mothers and infants. The focus of the presentation was aimed towards the efforts of acknowledging and reducing the current inequalities.
The KBEA comprises medical experts, public health professionals based at the Knox County Health Department, doulas and faculty members from UT who led the panel.
Debra Miller, director of the UT One Health Initiative, opened the meeting and stated why this panel was included in the One Health + Humanities Days.
“One Health is an approach that unites disciplines to deal with these complex problems that are not easily solved because of the many factors that are involved,” Miller said. “Identifying factors and finding solutions to those factors will take a team, and light needs to be shed on this subject.”
This was not the first session where ideas were shared to enact change. Danielle Procope Bell, an assistant professor of Africana Studies at UT, spoke on how between July and October they identified their target audience as Black pregnant women in their third trimester as well as women in their postpartum period.
“We identified our strength of the group and formulated ideas that we believe will address issues surrounding hypertensive disorders of pregnancy,” Bell said. “So, preeclampsia is a very common postpartum depression and anxiety and in general, how do we provide families with physical and emotional support?”
The group was now progressing through learning how to write grants and fund support programs.
“I was somebody who had an experience giving birth and thought this was a terrible experience,” Bell said. “So I asked why that is and got involved with the issue of Black maternal health.”
Bell continued saying anyone can get involved and enact action, but she believes it starts by staying informed. She believes that there is a misconception that many people believe that only medical providers can provide that support.
“There’s so many ways that people can intervene in Black maternal health, even if they’re not physicians or nurses or even doulas. I think there’s a way for anyone to contribute,” Bell said.
Ty Roberts, the executive director of Gennisi Charitable Birth Services, stated that in her experience talk of change has sat at the table with no progress and there must be a push for positive development in this issue.
“You’ve got to start seeing the change because conversations about change are just pointless,” Roberts said. ” Yeah, it’s just conversations that are just going nowhere, so we’re really trying to even with this — trying to push forward some change in even policies in doctor’s offices and hospitals that are going to create a positive outlook for birth for black workers.”
Bell explained that this issue originates with the internal biases that are placed on Black women and children from the beginning. She believes that there must be a challenge to cultural narratives.
“And that goes beyond even birth. I mean, that’s related to police brutality, that’s related to education, that’s related to poverty. The disproportionate rates of poverty in African American communities, all of that relates to our lack of care that we give to Black children, that we give to Black families,” Bell said.
Roberts stated that in her work as a doula, there have been multiple instances where she has seen these biases in the medical field firsthand. She works to guide and support her clients through their pregnancy. In her career, Roberts has seen contradicting medical advice that was not in the best interest of her client’s well-being.
“Sometimes, just being in the room and being present is enough to disrupt because if they were gonna say something that was gonna be out of the way, they knew as a doula, I’m gonna say something, I’m gonna rebut that if it doesn’t make sense,” Roberts said.
Dr. Maeturah Harmon, an OB/GYN with Covenant Health in her field has used her position to empower her patients to speak up and ask questions. She acknowledged in the panel that she had come to the realization within her career that even though she is giving the best care to her patients, she knows that there is a danger of her patients falling victim to the dangerous statistics facing Black maternal health.
“I encourage my patients to push back, so now I’m not taking it back anymore when they’re like ‘Dr. Harmon hold up.’ You know, ‘I don’t like this or that nurse did this or whatever.’ Speak up. Ignorance is not bliss because that’s how things happen,” Harmon said.
The KBEA concluded the panel by speaking about how they felt the panel worked and the next steps for the group.
They believe it is essential to challenge cultural narratives and implicit biases ingrained in our healthcare systems. The KBEA maintains these disparities, deeply rooted in systemic issues, need to be addressed with urgency.
The KBEA will be focusing further on fostering open and inclusive discussions and ensuring that equitable access to comprehensive maternal care is available to black mothers.