Motherless Mothering Among Black Women in the United States

Passing the Baton frames the intersectionality of femininity and athleticism through an examination of the challenges experienced by Black women who compete in track and field. Sport historians will appreciate Cat Ariail's use of a historical timeline of Black women's accomplishments in track and field to express the golden age of athletic competition. Another bonus to this book is the notes section at the end of the book. The notes could be used as a guide toward continuing research on Black women in track and field, as the author thoughtfully provided thorough details on each section of the book.Insightfully, the introduction grabs the attention of the reader through teasing topics like boundaries of belonging, Black women's athleticism, and the athletic agency of Black American track women. Then the book transitions to telling the story of Alice Coachman, who specialized in the high jump and was the first African American woman to win an Olympic medal. The chapter uncovers how Coachman's presence at the Olympic games contradicted the masculine identity of the American elite athlete. To verify this notion, the author creatively uses legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson to convey the destabilization of normative Americanness during the postwar period in sports. However, the portrayal of Jackie Robinson also discloses the challenges for Black women negotiating their athletic identity while seeking to achieve American acceptance.This is further explored through an introduction to the women's track and field club the Tuskegee Tigerettes. Known for their poise, femininity, and athleticism, the Tigerettes began competing in sports in the early twentieth century. The Tigerettes challenged negative labels affixed to female athletes participating in speed and strength sports by exemplifying normative American, southern values, which they coined the Tuskegee Model.Chapter 2 explores Black women tracksters as political actors. The author shows how Olympians competing on a global stage earned the honor and power of being representatives of their countries. Black women became the face of American culture and athleticism, making them a global symbol of America.What makes this book a priceless contribution to the field of sport history, however, is Ariail's argument that the athletic victories of Black women in track and field surpassed the sports stage and directly impacted political relationships with the United States and forged America's image. The author critically examines this point in chapter 3, where she highlights the story of Aertwentha Mae Faggs. Faggs presented Tennessee State University's famed Tigerbelles to the sports world. The Tigerbelles became internationally known for their superior athleticism in women's sports, and in 1952 Faggs won an Olympic gold medal, making her one of the first Tigerbelles to earn one. Like the Tigerettes, the athletic success and representation of the Tigerbelles provided the United States an opportunity to cast a picture of gender and racial equality on a global scale.Chapter 4 focuses on the notion of heteronormativity and its influence on Black women becoming symbols of American democracy. As such, the author states, “Heteronormativity and predominant blackness of American women's track and field meant that the squad assembled for the inaugural US-Soviet Union dual aligned with the American social order” (120). Chapter 5 then unpacks the story of Wilma Rudolph, who first appears in the introduction of the book. Through these two sections, the author creatively untangles Rudolph's story by examining the influences of the Cold War and the civil rights movement on the identity of elite Black women athletes.A highlight of chapter 5 is when Ariail discusses how Rudolph's image complicated the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality. The author contends that Rudolph's beauty was aligned with America's obsession with light skin, straight hair, and femininity, which propelled her celebrity status and morphed American traditions into accepting Black women as fierce athletic competitors.The book ends by detailing how the enduring efforts of Black women competing in speed and strength sports opens doors for white female athletes. For example, through her image, Wilma Rudolph made elite athleticism obtainable for white female athletes who were shunned for participating in strength sports, which attacked the dominant white gender ideology.In conclusion, I highly recommend this book as it intermingles foreign politics, American values, and challenges experienced by Black women in track and field seeking to reach the epitome of athleticism.

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CMD) remains the primary cause of death among Black women in the United States. Given the well-recognized benefits of physical activity (PA) in reducing CVD mortality, PA levels among Black women remain notably low. This study aims to explore factors associated with low PA in Black women with CMD via secondary analysis of subjective Global Physical Activity Questionnaire data in the 2013-2028 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample. The prevalence of CVD among Black women (26,100,000 ± 2,171,143) in the estimated total population of United States (US) was significantly greater than in Black men (21,300,000 ± 1,592,102) (t = -5.02, p < 0.001). Significantly greater proportion of Black women in the US did not meet the recommended PA guidelines (79.9% versus 89.3% in Black men and women; t = 3.51, p = 0.001). Among Black men and women, age, self-perceived health, and difficulty walking emerged as significant predictors of meeting PA guidelines (F5, 40 = 10.07, p < 0.001, whereas age and high glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were significant predictors among Black women (F8, 36 = 2.62, p = 0.023). Every unit increase in age and HbA1c decreased the odds of Black women meeting the PA guidelines by 5% and 27.6% (OR = 0.96, p = 0.014 and OR = 0.96, p = 0.014).

Do differences in experiences of motherhood (e.g., number of children, age at first child, and relationship type) by race/ethnicity and social class mean that attitudes toward motherhood also vary by social location? We examine attitudes toward being a mother among black, Hispanic, Asian, and white women of higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES, as measured by education). Results using the National Survey of Fertility Barriers ( N = 4,796) indicate that, despite fertility differences, attitudes toward being a mother differ little between groups. White and Asian women have higher positive attitudes toward being a mother than black and Hispanic women. Only black women appear to distinguish between having and raising children; surprisingly, lower educated Hispanic women are less likely to think that they would be a mother, see motherhood as fulfilling, and think that it is important to have and to raise children compared with higher educated, white women.

Pregnancy and lactation are special life stages that require regular nutritional and medical attention to help protect the health of the mother and promote the growth and development of the offspring. Despite an increased focus on maternal and fetal health over the last several decades, the rates of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality are increasing in the United States (US). On average, Black women who are pregnant or lactating face greater health disparities and birth complications than other racial/ethnic groups in the US. The issues contributing to these disparities are multi-faceted and include sociocultural, economic, medical, and dietary factors. For example, Black women face greater rates of food insecurity, worse access to healthcare, and lower nutrient status when compared to White women. A growing body of research suggests that consuming a healthier dietary pattern is one of the most potent modifiable risk factors associated with improved fertility and reducing pregnancy-related complications. Recent publications have also shed light on the role of dairy foods in improving diet quality and nutrient status among Black women and for impacting maternal and fetal health outcomes, such as preeclampsia, spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, and fetal growth. To support healthy pregnancy and lactation, the current national dietary guidelines recommend the consumption of 3 servings of dairy foods per day. However, the vast majority of Black women in the US are falling short of these recommendations and are not meeting nutrient requirements for calcium and vitamin D. Therefore, strategies that target misconceptions surrounding lactose intolerance and focus on the health value of adequate dairy intake among Black women of child-bearing age may benefit both prenatal and postpartum health. This review presents the current evidence on health disparities faced by pregnant and lactating Black women in the US, and the role of dairy foods in supporting healthy pregnancy, fetal development, and lactation outcomes in this population.

<i>Distinct Identities: Minority Women in U.S. Politics</i>. Edited by Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon. New York: Routledge, 2016.

abstractThe everyday lived experiences of Southern Black American women in the United States (US) are rarely explicitly characterised in Black Feminisms’ discourse. The lack of an active discourse surrounding the Southern Black women’s identity is a glaring weakness in the broader discussion of feminism (Rushing, 2009; 2017). From Black women who historically worked as day workers, cleaning the homes of white families while their families fended for themselves, to the contemporary phenomena of home health care aid workers charged with cleaning and caring for individuals, often older and white, Southern Black women’s ways of knowing have framed not only the civil rights movement (Emmons et al, 2013); but also contemporary social movements such as #SayHerName and the agency of digital social phenomena such as Black Twitter. Past social movements emphasised space and the meaningfulness of the South concerning civil rights, yet current discourse fails to integrate region and location in the narrative of these movements, thus missing opportunities to explore the “complexity and explanatory power” place contributes (Rushing, 2017:1). The proliferation of digital platforms such as podcasts, videos, social media stories focused on health demonstrate how Black women are reclaiming their health, and bringing others along with them. However, the theorisation of what we term Southern Black Feminisms, specifically as it relates to Black women’s health, is lacking. This theoretical article, informed by qualitative and quantitative data from both authors’ previous research, will build a profile for Southern Black women in the US, characterise Southern Black Feminisms and propose a Southern Black woman informed, evidence-based framework addressing health inequities among Southern Black women. The goal is to demonstrate how the experiences of everyday Black women in the US South and the Global South are connected, especially with African Diasporic women, and consider how potential alliances can contribute to collective resistance and action.

Black women in the United States experience increased risk for mental disorders and are less likely to have access to appropriate mental health treatment compared with White women. To develop culturally responsive strategies to improve Black women's access to mental health treatment, the authors evaluated social determinants associated with mental health treatment utilization and unmet mental health needs among Black reproductive-age women with serious psychological distress. The authors performed a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Data from 2009 to 2019 were pooled and restricted to Black women ages 18-44 years with serious psychological distress (N=4,171). Logistic regressions were conducted to identify personal and social determinants (e.g., education, employment status, poverty, and insurance status) of mental health treatment utilization, alternative mental health treatment utilization (e.g., spiritual support and self-help), and perceived unmet mental health needs. Education and employment status were significantly associated with all three outcomes. Among the women who reported unmet mental health needs, opposition to treatment and cost were the highest endorsed barriers. Differences were found by pregnancy status, with pregnant women being significantly less likely to endorse cost (p<0.001) and more likely to endorse time and transportation as barriers (p<0.01) to receiving mental health treatment. Strategies to improve mental health outcomes for Black women should focus on reducing cost and transportation barriers and on the development of culturally responsive intervention approaches that address Black women's concerns about mental health treatment.

Screening mammography guidelines do not explicitly consider racial differences in breast cancer epidemiology, treatment, and survival. To compare tradeoffs of screening strategies in Black women versus White women under current guidelines. An established model from the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network simulated screening outcomes using race-specific inputs for subtype distribution; breast density; mammography performance; age-, stage-, and subtype-specific treatment effects; and non-breast cancer mortality. United States. A 1980 U.S. birth cohort of Black and White women. Screening strategies until age 74 years with varying initiation ages and intervals. Outcomes included benefits (life-years gained [LYG], breast cancer deaths averted, and mortality reduction), harms (mammographies, false positives, and overdiagnoses), and benefit-harm ratios (tradeoffs) by race. Efficiency (benefits per unit resource), mortality disparity reduction, and equity in tradeoffs were evaluated. Equitable strategies for Black women were defined as those with tradeoffs closest to benchmark values for screening White women biennially from ages 50 to 74 years. Biennial screening from ages 45 to 74 years was most efficient for Black women, whereas biennial screening from ages 40 to 74 years was most equitable. Initiating screening 10 years earlier in Black versus White women reduced Black-White mortality disparities by 57% with similar LYG per mammogram for both populations. Selection of the most equitable strategy was sensitive to assumptions about disparities in real-world treatment effectiveness: The less effective treatment was for Black women, the more intensively Black women could be screened before tradeoffs fell short of those experienced by White women. Single model. Initiating biennial screening in Black women at age 40 years reduces breast cancer mortality disparities and yields benefit-harm ratios that are similar to tradeoffs of White women screened biennially from ages 50 to 74 years. National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Although racial/ethnic differences in functional outcomes after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) exist, whether such differences are associated with differences in presurgical physical function (PF) has not been thoroughly investigated. To examine trajectories of PF by race/ethnicity before and after TKA among older women. This cohort study was conducted among the prospective Women's Health Initiative with linked Medicare claims data. A total of 10 325 community-dwelling women throughout the United States with Medicare fee-for-service underwent primary TKA between October 1, 1993, and December 31, 2014, and were followed up through March 31, 2017. Race/ethnicity comparisons between Hispanic or Latina women, non-Hispanic black or African American women, and non-Hispanic white women (hereafter referred to as Hispanic, black, and white women, respectively). Physical functioning scale scores and self-reported activity limitations with walking 1 block, walking several blocks, and climbing 1 flight of stairs were measured by the RAND 36-Item Health Survey during the decade before and after TKA, with a median of 9 PF measurements collected per participant over time. In total, 9528 white women (mean [SD] age at surgery, 74.6 [5.5] years), 622 black women (mean [SD] age at surgery, 73.1 [5.3] years), and 175 Hispanic women (mean [SD] age at surgery, 73.1 [5.2] years) underwent TKA. During the decade prior to TKA, black women had lower PF scores than white women (mean difference, -5.8 [95% CI, -8.0 to -3.6]) and higher odds of experiencing difficulty walking a single block (5 years before TKA: odds ratio, 1.86 [95% CI, 1.57-2.21]), walking multiple blocks (odds ratio, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.83-2.50]), and climbing 1 flight of stairs (odds ratio, 1.81 [95% CI, 1.55-2.12]). After TKA, black women continued to have lower PF scores throughout the decade (mean difference 1 year after TKA, -7.8 [95% CI, -10.8 to -4.9]). After adjusting for preoperative PF scores, PF scores after TKA were attenuated (mean difference 1 year after TKA, -3.0 [95% CI, -5.3 to -0.7]), with no statistically significant differences in long-term follow-up. Hispanic women had similar PF scores to white women during the pre-TKA and post-TKA periods. This study suggests that black women had significantly poorer PF than white women during the decades before and after TKA. Poorer PF after surgery was associated with poorer preoperative PF. Reducing disparities in post-TKA functional outcomes should target maintenance of function preoperatively in the early stages of arthritic disease and/or reduction of delays to receiving TKA once need arises.

Hair relaxers are predominantly used by Black women in the United States. It has been recently suggested that exposure to potential endocrine-disrupting compounds from the use of these products may be associated with the development of gynecological and breast cancers and anatomically relevant nonmalignancies. We conducted a systematic literature review using PubMed to identify original studies reporting measures of association between hair relaxer use and relevant adverse outcomes, focusing specifically on Black women in the United States. A total of 1382 studies were initially identified, and after consideration of the exclusion and inclusion criteria, the final set of studies consisted of seven cohort studies and one case-control study. The overall findings suggest that Black women in the United States do not experience an increased risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or uterine cancer due to hair relaxers. One study found a statistically significant association between hair relaxer use and uterine leiomyomata, but there were no other studies identified to support these findings. None of the studies characterized the chemical constituents of hair relaxers. From an epidemiologic perspective, the weight of the evidence does not support the hypothesis that the use of hair relaxers is a risk factor for gynecological and breast cancers in US Black women.

Recent studies find that Black women experience rates of eating pathology and body dissatisfaction comparable to those of White women. Abundant research suggests that objectification theory could help explain the development and maintenance of eating disorder (ED) symptoms among diverse women. However, research on the applicability of objectification theory to ED symptoms in Black women is equivocal. Specifically, some have suggested that body surveillance might operate differently for Black women. Thus, the current study examined ethnic-racial identity (ERI) commitment and body appreciation as moderators of the mediated associations among body surveillance, body shame, and ED symptoms. Black women (n = 175) in the United States completed measures of body image, ERI commitment, and ED symptoms. Consistent with objectification theory, body shame mediated the association between body surveillance and ED symptoms. Contrary to our hypothesis, ERI commitment did not moderate the link between body surveillance and body shame. However, body appreciation was a significant moderator, such that the strength of the relation between body surveillance and ED symptoms via body shame was weakened at high levels of body appreciation. Future work should consider interventions that foster body appreciation in Black women.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is an inflammatory syndrome of the upper female reproductive organs caused by infection, most commonly via Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis, spreading to one or more reproductive organs. With PID responsible for many of the major morbidities of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain, the urgency is high to mitigate the impacts of untreated PID, especially in higher-risk populations. This paper discusses the current disparities in PID diagnosis, treatment, and management between Black and white women and proposes interventions to reduce health inequalities involving PID. To conduct this narrative review, a broad literature search was performed across the databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, using a combination of relevant keywords and headings. Current literature reports higher PID rates in Black versus white women, although disparities were shown to be attenuated after controlling for factors such as socioeconomic status and STI rate. These results may suggest that Black women are more likely to experience an asymptomatic or undiagnosed STI, supported by studies showing that Black women are less likely to report STI testing than white women. Public health efforts should focus on culturally sensitive messaging and interventions that improve sexual health awareness and behavior. Provider education interventions can also help mitigate bias and improve adherence to CDC guidelines for PID diagnosis and management, with the goal of reducing healthcare disparities and improving patient outcomes.

Background Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) designed to screen for fetal genetic conditions, is increasingly being implemented as a part of routine prenatal care screening in the United States (US). However, these advances in reproductive genetic technology necessitate empirical research on the ethical and social implications of NIPT among populations underrepresented in genetic research, particularly Black women with sickle cell disease (SCD). Methods Forty (N = 40) semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually with Black women in the US (19 participants with SCD; 21 participants without SCD) from June 2021 to January 2022. We employed a qualitative approach to examine the study participants’ perceptions of the potential advancement of NIPT for screening SCD in the fetus. Data were analyzed using NVivo 12 qualitative software. Results The themes revealed the complexities involving the intersectional lived experiences of SCD, prenatal care, lack of synergy among health providers, and NIPT decision-making. The results further revealed that even when Black women have shared commonalities in their lived experiences while navigating SCD and motherhood, their perceptions of NIPT screening technologies are divergent. Conclusion Expanding the ethical discourse on the social implications of NIPT is critical to fully elucidate how Black women perceive NIPT’s utility, particularly as NIPT advances to screen for SCD in the fetus. Neglecting to include Black women with genetic conditions in empirical studies on NIPT may contribute to ongoing health inequities and limit and constrain reproductive choices among Black women with and without SCD.

Differences between black and white women in the use of prenatal care technologies