美国国家公共电台 NPR Black midwives and doulas in Michigan work to improve maternal and infant health

Black midwives and doulas in Michigan work to improve maternal¹ and infant health

Transcript²

Black doulas are setting out to help change the dramatic Black infant mortality rate. In Michigan and across the country, Black infants die far more frequently than white babies.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Across the country, data shows Black infants die far more frequently than white babies. In Michigan, Black midwives and doulas are on the front lines, working to save those lives. And as Michelle Jokisch Polo of member station WKAR in East Lansing reports, their efforts are dramatically improving outcomes.

MICHELLE JOKISCH POLO, BYLINE³: It's been a little over a week since Ahmir Williams-Laster was born. Today, he's with his mom and dad, Nova and Deontre, for their first checkup with their midwife since giving birth at home.

(SOUNDBITE OF BABY CRYING)

JOKISCH POLO: Though Ahmir is Nova's second child, he was her first to be delivered at home.

NOVA WILLIAMS-LASTER: I just really wanted to experience that. Like, thinking about our ancestors and, like, how they didn't have all this medicine, so they were able to just do it where they were - it's like, I know I can do it.

JOKISCH POLO: Williams-Laster says Black infant mortality rates were top of mind.

WILLIAMS-LASTER: I feel like having a woman of color assist me - it's more comforting knowing 'cause she understands where we're coming from. Like, she can connect with me. I can connect with her.

JOKISCH POLO: In Michigan, Black babies are three times more likely to die within the first year of life, compared to white babies, and Black women are nearly two times more likely to die from pregnancy⁴-related causes than white women. Dawn Shanafelt is in charge of coming up with strategies to improve maternal infant health for the state's health department.

DAWN SHANAFELT: That ray of hope that we see is that the majority of these deaths - and more than 60% have been determined⁵ to be preventable.

JOKISCH POLO: Shanafelt says the root causes are systemic inequities and racism⁶. It's these disparities that are driving many Black families like the Williams-Lasters to increasingly seek services of doulas and midwives who look like them. During their pregnancy, Nova and Deontre chose to drive an hour each way to see Nova's certified⁷ professional midwife, Tiffany Townsend, instead of the five-minute drive to the hospital in Nova's hometown. In the last five years she's been a birth worker, Townsend says she's seen better outcomes among her Black clients than what the state's health system is seeing.

TIFFANY TOWNSEND: And a big part of that is simply having the ability to slow down and see the whole person. Like, I don't have 15-minute prenatal visits. In my visits, we schedule an hour, and during that time, we're talking about nutrition, stress, movement.

JOKISCH POLO: Dr. Michelle Ogunwole is a health disparity researcher at Johns Hopkins University. She's been studying the impact community-based doulas and midwives can have on the birth and health outcomes of Black people. She says part of the reasons providers like Townsend are seeing better outcomes is because they tend to have a practice that's rooted in undoing⁸ the intergenerational trauma⁹ of hundreds of years of racism.

MICHELLE OGUNWOLE: And believing the experiences of people who are historically marginalized.

JOKISCH POLO: In Michigan, the care these birth workers provide isn't covered by Medicaid, which makes it harder for some working-class Black people to opt¹⁰ to receive this kind of care. Because Black midwives make up nearly 7% of midwives across the country, Townsend is partnering with other Black birth workers to create a pipeline¹¹.

TOWNSEND: So we offer this free training to them, train them up to be doulas.

JOKISCH POLO: In recent years, programs like Townsend's have popped up all over the country, including in New Orleans, New York City and Philadelphia. Dr. Sharon Herring is leading a $5 million project at Temple University, studying the outcomes Black doulas can have.

SHARON HERRING: And we're hypothesizing that these additional supports will lead to lower blood pressure, treat social isolation¹² and depression.

JOKISCH POLO: Townsend says she's planning to continue to offer birth care as a way of empowering people, and Nova is looking forward to more positive home birth experiences.

For NPR News, I'm Michelle Jokisch Polo.

(SOUNDBITE OF LUCAVIETSKI'S "WE ARE LOVE")

1 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

8 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

9 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

10 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

11 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

12 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。