Talking about being Black and the care received during and after pregnancy loss
Zainab lost her baby Noa during her second trimester. Listen to Zainab share her thoughts on whether being Black affected the care she received and what kind of support she feels should be available. A transcript is also available below.
I don’t think that necessarily my race affected my care and the support I received.
So, yes, I am Black and I had a positive experience during and after pregnancy loss, I would say.
Of course, going through pregnancy loss is very, very difficult and it was very overwhelming, but I feel like I was given adequate information – whether that was having to give birth and the post mortem investigation and subsequently trying again for another baby.
However, although I don’t feel like my race played a part in it, I was approached by a black female consultant and for me that was a great comfort, having someone who looked like me come and speak to both of us personally and assure us that although we’d gone through such a tragic experience and loss, if and when we decided to try again she would have us under her care.
That just gave me such great assurance that I would be cared for, if and when we got pregnant again.
Greater awareness is really important. General awareness in the public and awareness amongst practitioners so that women are getting targeted support, whether that’s during or after pregnancy loss.
I feel like one of the things I could have really benefited from was a targeted counselling service. I would have felt more comfortable in a space I could probably relate to more.
