Maternal Mortality in the Black Community
Sierra Wheeler
The rate at which black women die during childbirth compared to white women, regardless of age, class, marital status, or education level, is remarkably disproportionate still today. The unethical custom of not believing black patients when in dire situations and belittling their experience is an example of how this belief impacts medical practice. As black women are considered stronger and accused of not feeling pain, their grievances go unnoticed, causing deaths that could have ultimately been prevented if taken seriously.
Disposition
Disposition is a set of collages that reflect upon the black nurses and midwives who pushed the medical field forward but were silenced or went unrecognized because they weren’t allowed to formally train as nurse
In The Dark
In The Dark is the first space I developed. It’s a reflective space that critiques the history of American gynecology and modern medicine and how it affects black women and the maternal mortality of black birthing women.
Mending Space
My capstone is called The Mending Space and my goal is to create a space for black women and mothers to heal and be cared for holistically and without the barriers of neglect and the systematic stereotypes of being black in a medical space. This space takes into account the history of the field and the people it serves and actively works to dismantle that by centering black women and holistic health at the forefront of the design.
The birthing Room
The Waiting Room
