Witnessing a Birth

Abstract

The first part of this book has emphasized birth stories told by Black women and two Black men. These have frequently been angst-filled narratives, often soldered with histories and interpretations of racial stereotyping and the experience of racism. Up to this point the chapters have interrogated premature birthing experiences from the vantage point of Black mothers and fathers, who have been subjected to articulations of racial bias. Most mothers, but by no means all of them, described interactions with medical professionals that may be characterized as being caught up in webs of racism based on how they were treated....