Poor Health Outcomes Are Related to Discrimination (Blood Pressure)

Renee Montagne researched the reason behind high death rate of black mothers during and after giving birth. The research was specific on the black mothers who have limited health options which facilitated poor health outcome. Most poor people do not care about their lives from the time they are kids which leads to complications later in adulthood. The story of Sharon who died of blood pressure was attributed to the realization that she was pregnant which was not planned. Blood pressure is the blood pressure higher than 140/90mmHg (Dolezsar, McGrath, Herzig & Miller 2014).

During pregnancy, high blood pressure is common, but it causes severe complications to both the mother and the child if not controlled. Most complications during pregnancy are caused by uncontrolled blood pressure caused by racial disparities, income, family issues and first-time pregnancy. According to the research, many black college-educated mothers suffered high blood pressure during pregnancy leading to complications. The other reason attributed to this is the delayed prenatal visit, obesity and hypertension caused by stress. There are many cases reported on the black kids who live a stressful and desperate life in America while trying to fit in and prove they are smart just like white kids (Hilmert et al., 2014). The trauma and depression become severe as they grow up especially during pregnancy.

High blood pressure during pregnancy leads to the following concerns; High risk of breathing during the labor, high risk of placental abruption, low blood flow into the placenta, premature delivery, future cardiovascular disease, child impaired growth, and side effect from medications being taken (Dolezsar et al. 2014). Pregnant mothers especially Blacks who have less concern about their health issue are advised to take precautions during pregnancy to avoid complications. They need to eat a balanced diet, keep al prenatal appointments and stay physically active to prevent obesity. Consequently, there is need to reduce stress during this period.

High blood pressure is risky not only to the pregnant mothers but to all people men included. It is advisable to control the high blood pressure by living a healthy life. For the black American and the low-income families, it is good to accept who they are and reduce trauma and stress which increase high blood pressure. No matter how successful we want to be, our health issues should be the first concern.

References

Dolezsar, C. M., McGrath, J. J., Herzig, A. J., & Miller, S. B. (2014). Perceived racial discrimination and hypertension: a comprehensive systematic review.

Hilmert, C. J., Dominguez, T. P., Schetter, C. D., Srinivas, S. K., Glynn, L. M., Hobel, C. J., & Sandman, C. A. (2014). Lifetime racism and blood pressure changes during pregnancy: Implications for fetal growth. Health Psychology, 33(1), 43.