The Impact of Devaluing Women of Color: Stress, Reproduction, and Justice

( Birth . 2024;51:245–252. doi:10.1111/birt.12825) Women of color frequently experience distress, inadequate treatment, and inferior health care during pregnancy in comparison to White women. This gap is particularly pronounced for Black women, who face the most significant reproductive health challenges, such as elevated maternal mortality rates. The inequalities stem from racist policies in the past and persist because of systemic practices that undervalue Women of Color, leaving them at higher risk for adverse consequences. This depreciation can result in health care providers ignoring or downplaying their distress, worsening their difficulties. Moreover, the medical field frequently has blamed these worse results on assumed innate characteristics rather than structural prejudices, thus solidifying inequalities. Respectful and antiracist pregnancy care practices can change these outcomes.