Many of you have probably seen this article. It details the last hours of Lauren Bloomstein's life; a woman who, otherwise healthy, died during childbirth due to the ignorance of her male doctor. This has always been a problem for women in the United States, especially black women, but it's just now coming to the forefront. Why now?
Because women are getting tired of it. That's why.
We live in a culture that holds motherhood as the pinnacle of the lives of all women. It tells us as women that we have a biological urge to nurture (one that has not been scientifically proven to exist). Yes, that urge is entirely socialized starting with childhood when the first thing we're handed is a baby doll, and the second is a plastic cooking set. Boys are definitely not subject to the same amount of psychological pressure, but it is there.
Relationships break up over this kind of argument, and it only amplifies as the couple ages. In college, you don't really feel the need to think about it, but the rising number of friends getting pregnant has heightened my awareness. But why is this treatment of childless women an issue related to Lauren Bloomstein?
She wanted to be a mother, and I'm happy that she got to experience at least a glimpse into her lifelong dream, but the manner of her death is becoming more and more common. Women in the United States are at risk for all sorts of complications, yet not surprisingly, no one informs us.
In the United States, motherhood is valued above woman. That's why we have such a roaring debate on contraception, reproductive rights, and reproductive health. It's why many students in the United States do not receive comprehensive sex ed, and even in states that do mandate students receive sexual education, like Maryland, the topic of maternal mortality doesn't really come up.
Maternal mortality rates are even more common among black women. In states such as Georgia, Arkansas, and New Jersey, the rates for black women in particular skyrocket.
Would women be discouraged from becoming mothers if they were told about diseases such as preeclampsia or complications such as vagina tearing? Maybe, maybe not. I couldn't tell you, but what I'm trying to say is that we have a right to know.
We have a right to know what we're doing to our bodies before we do it. For too long, women have been subject to treatment and blind medical procedures, just like Lauren Bloomstein was. She was a nurse, her husband a doctor, and still, she was neglected.
As a child-free woman, I can't really say that women who want children will think twice about taking the risk, but I do know this is actually one of the most important reasons why myself and many women wish to be child-free. Some of us just don't see child-rearing as worth the risk of death, and that's okay.
I'm not making an argument about reproductive rights, I'm making the argument that we have a right to clear and concise information about our bodies and processes we put our bodies through.
