Obstetric Racism: The Racial Politics of Pregnancy, Labor, and Birthing

ABSTRACT In this article, I analyze the birth stories of Black women living in the United States. Their birth stories describe various forms of racism during medical encounters while they were pregnant or during labor and delivery. In the global women’s health arena, the issues raised are viewed as obstetric violence. However, obstetric racism—as both an occurrence and analytic—best captures the particularities of Black women’s reproductive care during the pre- and post-natal period. Obstetric racism is a threat to positive birth outcomes. I argue that birth workers including midwives and doulas, mediate obstetric racism and stratified reproductive outcomes.