Stop Blaming Black Women for the Black Maternal Health Crisis and Start Blaming American Workplaces

Roselyn Miller wrote for Better Life Lab on Slate about America’s deteriorating work conditions & skyrocketing black infant mortality: 

When she was 19, Cherisse Scott lost her baby.

The pregnancy was unplanned, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would have the baby. She laid awake at night worrying about raising a child alone, keeping up at work, and hopefully finishing college someday. The anxiety and stress compounded with uncertainty about whether she would be able to afford the next month’s rent and food. Nonetheless, Scott celebrated her pregnancy.

Scott planned to sacrifice as much as she could to raise a healthy child. She prepared to leave school and move into the house of her then-boyfriend’s mother, although her partner was slowly growing distant and unsupportive. With a job that didn’t offer health care or workplace flexibility, and unaware of any campus services that might have been available to support her, Scott’s emotional, physical, and mental stress began to grow.