A 2024 study from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine suggests increasing racial diversity among providers could help slow inequities in obstetrics care.
Data shows roughly 10% of obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYN) identify as Black, making them in high demand.
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WATCH HEREWhen I first found out that I was expecting, I was excited, but my brain also went into reporter mode. I began researching the best hospitals and doctors in the region.
As a first-time mom of what they call advanced maternal age and a journalist who knows the sobering statistics, I knew I wanted a Black doctor on my care team.
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SIGN UP My research led me to Dr. Gloria Bowles-Johnson.
She's a top OB at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and an associate professor at the university's medical school.
It turns out, I'm not alone in seeking her out.
Bowles-Johnson says she’s been doing this for a while – 35 years. In those decades, she has delivered countless babies in the DMV as one of the area’s few Black OBs.
In the massive MedStar healthcare system, her care is in high demand from women who look like her – women just like me.
“There’s a level of distrust, actually, in the community among patients and providers. And it's really sad, right? Because we are really trying to give our all actually to patients,” she said.
“I think that many Black women don't trust physicians that don't look like them and thus they seek out to try to find physicians that look like them,” Bowles-Johnson said. “Well, we’re a small minority.”
'You have to be an advocate,' doctor says
While Black doctors may be a minority, CDC data shows Black women make up the majority of maternal deaths.
It’s an issue that needs continued research and awareness, Bowles-Johnson said.
“I think because hypertensive diseases in general affect the Black population more than other populations, and we are seeing women that are of advanced maternal age, where the risk of things like preeclampsia, gestational hypertension is more prevalent as women get older, and then on top of that with the race being African American, I think it impacts our community a lot more than others,” she said.
What should women do to have the best health outcomes, whether or not they have a doctor who looks like them?
“You have to be an advocate no matter who you actually see, even if they don't look like you, she said. “So if you feel like you're not getting what you want or you don't understand what the physician says to you in medical jargon, then you have to advocate yourself as a patient to say, ‘I don't understand that, explain that.’ And make the physician take the time,” she said.
Patients deserve help to understand their concerns, Bowles-Johnson said.
Mental health and emotional support are key
Another aspect of pregnancy, Bowles-Jo points out, is mental health.
One in five women who are pregnant or postpartum develops a psychiatric disorder. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety top the list.
“The most optimal scenario for a pregnant person is one where she feels well physically and feels supported emotionally,” Dr. Aimee Danielson said.
Danielson is the founder and director of the Women's Mental Health Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. It's a new, high-intensity group that uses OB referrals to get moms help early.
“The idea is to identify women who are at risk for becoming depressed or anxious as early as possible so we can offer them, ideally, support to prevent them from getting sick after their babies are born,” Danielson said.
MedStar social worker U'nek Clarke says Black moms especially need to prioritize perinatal mental health just as much as they do their physical health.
“I think taking the time to pause and make yourself a priority is really important, and it is in seeking help and reaching out,” Clarke said.
Asking for help is not a weakness but truly a strength, she said.
“The more that you take care of yourself, you are taking care of the people around you,” Clarke said.
What Clarke said is important. Remember: Seeking help is not a weakness.
I know from personal experience. My anxiety has been higher than normal throughout this whole process.
I'm nervous about it all working out to be OK, but you have to take care of your mind and body. All of it.
