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Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million human births globally. In the developed countries, most deliveries occur in hospitals, while in the developing countries most are home births.
Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pregnancy, underlying conditions worsened by the pregnancy or management of these conditions. This can occur either while she is pregnant or within six weeks of resolution of the pregnancy. The CDC definition of pregnancy-related deaths extends the period of consideration to include one year from the resolution of the pregnancy. Pregnancy associated death, as defined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), are all deaths occurring within one year of a pregnancy resolution. Identification of pregnancy associated deaths is important for deciding whether or not the pregnancy was a direct or indirect contributing cause of the death.
Natural childbirth is childbirth without routine medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies. Natural childbirth attempts to minimize medical intervention, particularly the use of anesthetic medications and surgical interventions such as episiotomies, forceps and ventouse deliveries and caesarean sections. Natural childbirth may occur during a physician or midwife attended hospital birth, a midwife attended homebirth, or an unassisted birth. The term "natural childbirth" was coined by obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read upon publication of his book Natural Childbirth in the 1930s, which was followed by the 1942 Childbirth Without Fear.
Bedford–Stuyvesant, colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, is a neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Bedford–Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north, Classon Avenue to the west, Broadway to the east, and Atlantic Avenue to the south. The main shopping street, Fulton Street, runs east–west the length of the neighborhood and intersects high-traffic north–south streets including Bedford Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and Stuyvesant Avenue. Bedford–Stuyvesant contains four smaller neighborhoods: Bedford, Stuyvesant Heights, Ocean Hill, and Weeksville. Part of Clinton Hill was once considered part of Bedford–Stuyvesant.
Unassisted childbirth (UC) refers to the process of intentionally giving birth without the assistance of a medical birth attendant. It may also be known as freebirth, DIY (do-it-yourself) birth, unhindered birth, and unassisted home birth. Unassisted childbirth is by definition a planned process, and is thus distinct from unassisted birth due to reasons of emergency, lack of access to a skilled birth attendant, or other. It is also different from homebirth, although most UCs also happen within the home.
Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford–Stuyvesant in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 16 and was founded in 1890. The ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11233. Ocean Hill's boundaries start from Broadway and the neighborhood of Bushwick in the north, Ralph Avenue and the neighborhoods of Bedford–Stuyvesant proper and Crown Heights to the west, East New York Avenue and the neighborhood of Brownsville to the south, and Van Sinderen Avenue and the neighborhood of East New York to the east.
Yusef Kirriem Hawkins was a 16-year-old black teenager from the neighborhood of East New York, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, who was shot to death on August 23, 1989, in Bensonhurst, a predominantly Italian-American working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Hawkins, his younger brother, and two friends were attacked by a crowd of 10 to 30 white youths, with at least seven of them wielding baseball bats. One, armed with a handgun, shot Hawkins twice in the chest, killing him. In 2005, former Gambino crime family member Joseph D'Angelo admitted that the killers were present at his request, meant to serve as protection for his property from an expected racially motivated situation, which instead created the situation.
Maternal health is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in order to ensure a positive and fulfilling experience. In other cases, maternal health can reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Maternal health revolves around the health and wellness of pregnant women, particularly when they are pregnant, at the time they give birth, and during child-raising. WHO has indicated that even though motherhood has been considered as a fulfilling natural experience that is emotional to the mother, a high percentage of women develop health problems and sometimes even die. Because of this, there is a need to invest in the health of women. The investment can be achieved in different ways, among the main ones being subsidizing the healthcare cost, education on maternal health, encouraging effective family planning, and ensuring progressive check up on the health of women with children. Maternal morbidity and mortality particularly affects women of color and women living in low and lower-middle income countries.
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, founded in 1739 in London. Until October 2000, it occupied a site at 339–351 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, but is now located between East Acton and White City, adjacent to the Hammersmith Hospital. It is managed by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Woodhull Medical Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, is a health care system located in the Bedford–Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Its focus is on preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles in the community of North Brooklyn through its fifteen centers. Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center falls administratively under New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. As of 2018, the current CEO is Gregory Calliste.
Neel Shah is an American physician, Harvard University assistant professor, Chief Medical Officer of Maven Clinic, and founder of the nonprofit organizations Costs of Care and March for Moms. Shah is married to MIT Professor Julie Shah.
Irvine Loudon was a British doctor and a medical historian on childbirth fever and maternal mortality.
St. John's Episcopal Hospital was founded in 1871 as a sectarian hospital. It was later known as St. John's Hospital of Brooklyn, 1545 Atlantic Avenue, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Central Brooklyn, and became a major teaching affiliate of the State University of New York Downstate Medical School. In 1982 they merged with the larger Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and Medical Center, forming Interfaith Medical Center. After severe financial difficulties, Interfaith closed. Both sites became apartments.
Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman during her pregnancy or up to a year after her pregnancy has terminated; this metric only includes causes related to the pregnancy, and does not include accidental causes. Some sources will define maternal mortality as the death of a woman up to 42 days after the pregnancy has ended, instead of one year. In 1986, the CDC began tracking pregnancy-related deaths to gather information and determine what was causing these deaths by creating the Pregnancy-Related Mortality Surveillance System. According to a 2010-2011 report although the United States was spending more on healthcare than any other country in the world, more than two women died during childbirth every day, making maternal mortality in the United States the highest when compared to 49 other countries in the developed world.
George Floyd protests in New York City took place at several sites in each of the five New York City boroughs, starting on May 28, 2020, in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. Most of the protests were peaceful, while some sites experienced protester and/or police violence, including several high-profile incidents of excessive force. Looting became a parallel issue, especially in Manhattan. As a result, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was placed under curfew from June 1–7, the first curfew in the city since 1943. The protests catalyzed efforts at police reform, leading to the criminalization of chokeholds during arrests, the repeal of 50-a, and other legislation. Several murals and memorials were created around the city in George Floyd's honor, and demonstrations against racial violence and police brutality continued as part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement in New York City.
Black maternal mortality in the United States refers to the death of women, specifically those who identify as Black or African American, during or after child delivery. In general, maternal death can be due to a myriad of factors, such as the nature of the pregnancy or the delivery itself, but is not associated with unintentional or secondary causes. In the United States, around 700 women die from pregnancy-related illnesses or complications per year. This number does not include the approximately 50,000 women who experience life-threatening complications during childbirth, resulting in lifelong disabilities and complications. However, there are stark differences in maternal mortality rates for Black American women versus Indigenous American, Alaska Native, and White American women.
New York City has been the site of many Black Lives Matter protests in response to incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The Black Lives Matter movement began as a hashtag after the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin, and became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Garner was killed in the Staten Island borough of New York City, leading to protests, demonstrations, and work towards changes in policing and the law. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, the global response included extensive protests in New York City, and several subsequent changes to policy.
Chaniece Wallace, a black woman and physician, died at 30 years of age from complications of pregnancy two days after the birth of her daughter. Her death is seen as preventable and is viewed in the context of high rates of maternal mortality in the United States, particularly among the African American population. It is cited as an example in medical and scholarly publications to call for improved health outcomes in the black U.S. population. Wallace died despite several factors seen as protective: she was "highly educated, employed as a health care practitioner, had access to health care, and had a supportive family." Wallace was a fourth year pediatric chief resident at the Indiana University School of Medicine and was working at Riley Children's Health Hospital at the time of her death.
Childbirth in China is influenced by traditional Chinese medicine, state control of reproductive health and birthing, and the adoption of modern biomedical practices. There are an estimated 16 million births annually in mainland China. As of 2022, Chinese state media reported the country's total fertility rate to be 1.09. In 2023, there were 7.88 million births.
Grace Lynde Meigs Crowder was an American physician who studied infant mortality and maternal mortality. She did early comparisons with the data from other countries and she discovered that childbirth was the second most common cause of death in younger American women.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dickson, E. J. (2020-07-09). "Death of Sha-Asia Washington, Pregnant 26-Year-Old Black Woman, Highlights Devastating Trend". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- 1 2 Aponte, Claudia Irizarry (2021-04-30). "Brooklyn Doctor Under Investigation in Sha-asia Washington's Death During Childbirth". The City. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ↑ Edwards, Jessy (2021-07-05). "1 Year On: Legacy of Sha-Asia Semple Celebrated at Baby Khloe's Party". BK Reader. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- 1 2 Goldstein, Joseph (2023-01-23). "A Deadly Epidural, Delivered by a Doctor With a History of Mistakes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ↑ Christian, Tanya A. (November 4, 2020). "Protesters Emerge Outside Of Brooklyn Hospital After Black Mom Dies Giving Birth". Essence. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ↑ Salazar, Julia (2020-07-15). "July 15 Update: Statement on Sha-Asia Washington's Passing and Maternal Morbidity". NY State Senate. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ↑ Adams, Rose (2020-09-23). "Bed-Stuy mural honors Sha-Asia Semple, Black woman who died during childbirth". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2023-01-28.