Dr. Ndidiya Maka Amutah-Onukagha

These things all exacerbate the ability to deliver information. quality and timely care to birthing people of color. You know, it's very problematic that these things exist. And frankly, if you talk to most OBGYNs today, they'll tell you that's the history, but all of us are not doing it now. Up until pretty recently, people thought J. Ram Sims was a There's an algorithm called the VBAC.

So it essentially calculated the likelihood of someone being able to labor vaginally after having a prior C-section. And it subtracts from your likelihood of success if the person is a person of color. So this is not something that has any medical accuracy.

So it essentially calculated the likelihood of someone being able to labor vaginally after having a prior C-section. And it subtracts from your likelihood of success if the person is a person of color. So this is not something that has any medical accuracy.

So it essentially calculated the likelihood of someone being able to labor vaginally after having a prior C-section. And it subtracts from your likelihood of success if the person is a person of color. So this is not something that has any medical accuracy.

It's literally putting in someone's race into an algorithm and then telling the patient, I think you're going to need another C-section, even though the person may not actually need that.

It's literally putting in someone's race into an algorithm and then telling the patient, I think you're going to need another C-section, even though the person may not actually need that.

It's literally putting in someone's race into an algorithm and then telling the patient, I think you're going to need another C-section, even though the person may not actually need that.

Thinking about the historical context of the discipline of obstetrics and gynecology, thinking about this VBAC algorithm, which up until quite recently was still in use by many obstetric practices around the country. These are racially based and racially motivated practices that have very dire implications for Black birthing people and other birthing people of color.

Thinking about the historical context of the discipline of obstetrics and gynecology, thinking about this VBAC algorithm, which up until quite recently was still in use by many obstetric practices around the country. These are racially based and racially motivated practices that have very dire implications for Black birthing people and other birthing people of color.

Thinking about the historical context of the discipline of obstetrics and gynecology, thinking about this VBAC algorithm, which up until quite recently was still in use by many obstetric practices around the country. These are racially based and racially motivated practices that have very dire implications for Black birthing people and other birthing people of color.

There's no one isolating situation. It's the culmination of all these racist practices and tendencies that are now working together to unfortunately undermine the quality of care that Black women get and frankly impact their ability to safely birth in hospital settings. The field of midwifery also has its own problematic beginnings.

There's no one isolating situation. It's the culmination of all these racist practices and tendencies that are now working together to unfortunately undermine the quality of care that Black women get and frankly impact their ability to safely birth in hospital settings. The field of midwifery also has its own problematic beginnings.

There's no one isolating situation. It's the culmination of all these racist practices and tendencies that are now working together to unfortunately undermine the quality of care that Black women get and frankly impact their ability to safely birth in hospital settings. The field of midwifery also has its own problematic beginnings.

First of all, the field of midwifery started because Black women were not able to deliver in hospitals that were considered to be white-led. And so in a lot of parts of the country, particularly in the South, we had our own models of care, and that was the granny midwives.

First of all, the field of midwifery started because Black women were not able to deliver in hospitals that were considered to be white-led. And so in a lot of parts of the country, particularly in the South, we had our own models of care, and that was the granny midwives.

First of all, the field of midwifery started because Black women were not able to deliver in hospitals that were considered to be white-led. And so in a lot of parts of the country, particularly in the South, we had our own models of care, and that was the granny midwives.

And these midwives were community leaders, traditional birthing attendants that really safely and successfully delivered infants for a long time. And then once I think we started to see the credentialing of the field, the certifying body started to pop up in midwifery, it became largely problematic For Black women, they were criminalized for doing things they'd done for years.

And these midwives were community leaders, traditional birthing attendants that really safely and successfully delivered infants for a long time. And then once I think we started to see the credentialing of the field, the certifying body started to pop up in midwifery, it became largely problematic For Black women, they were criminalized for doing things they'd done for years.

And these midwives were community leaders, traditional birthing attendants that really safely and successfully delivered infants for a long time. And then once I think we started to see the credentialing of the field, the certifying body started to pop up in midwifery, it became largely problematic For Black women, they were criminalized for doing things they'd done for years.

Supporting births in home settings, in birthing centers, now became a criminal offense. We know that the midwifery model is a successful one, but we know that this is problematic because just like the history of obstetrics and gynecology, Black women who were not prioritized in that space were pushed out and really a whole generation of midwives was seemingly obliterated.