She went to the hospital a few days later and was admitted. “She made me feel like my concern wasn’t important, and because this was my first pregnancy, I decided not to go because I wasn’t sure and thought maybe I was overreacting,” Angelica said. A woman who answered the phone told her it was a common pregnancy issue, Angelica said, and that she shouldn’t worry too much. She called the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital’s labor and delivery unit to tell them she was having a hard time using the bathroom and her stomach was hurting. “I remember talking to a couple of my students and they said, ‘You don’t look good, Ms. In the last week of October 2019, while she was giving her students a test, her stomach started to hurt badly. She was prescribed medication that helped alleviate her symptoms but it also caused severe constipation. The AP conducted dozens of interviews with doctors, medical professionals, advocates, historians and researchers who detailed how a history of racism that began during the foundational years of America led to the disparities seen today.Īngelica Lyons carries her son while her younger sister, Ansonia Lyons, finishes her snack in the background.Īngelica Lyons’ pregnancy troubles began during her first trimester, with nausea and severe acid reflux. That higher mortality rate resulted in a cumulative loss of more than 80 million years of life due to people dying young and billions of dollars in health care and lost opportunity.Ī yearlong Associated Press project found that the health challenges Black Americans endure often begin before their first breath. The nation’s health disparities have had a tragic impact: Over the past two decades, the higher mortality rate among Black Americans resulted in 1.6 million excess deaths compared to white Americans. Black Americans have less access to adequate medical care their life expectancy is shorter.įrom birth to death, regardless of wealth or social standing, they are far more likely to get sick and die from common ailments.īlack Americans’ health issues have long been ascribed to genetics or behavior, when in actuality, an array of circumstances linked to racism - among them, restrictions on where people could live and historical lack of access to care - play major roles.ĭiscrimination and bias in hospital settings have been disastrous. To be Black anywhere in America is to experience higher rates of chronic ailments like asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's and, most recently, COVID-19. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States - 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.īlack babies are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely, setting the stage for health issues that could follow them through their lives.Īngelica Lyons tears up while recalling her birthing experience during an interview in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. Her experience is a reflection of the medical racism, bias and inattentive care that Black Americans endure. Rushed into the operating room for an emergency cesarean section, months before her due date, she nearly died of an undiagnosed case of sepsis.Įven more disheartening: Angelica worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the university affiliated with the hospital that treated her. Angelica said she wasn’t taken seriously until a searing pain rocketed throughout her body and her baby’s heart rate plummeted. Doctors and nurses told her she was suffering from normal contractions, she said, even as her abdominal pain worsened and she began to vomit bile. Her pleas for help were shrugged off, she said, and she was repeatedly sent home from the hospital. What should have been a joyous first pregnancy quickly turned into a nightmare when she began to suffer debilitating stomach pain. Then, in 2019, it nearly happened to her. 0:00 / 0:00 Listen to an AP radio version of the story
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