Shakima Tozay, a 37-year-old pregnant social worker, was undergoing a fetal heart rate check when the nurse referred to her unborn baby boy as a hoodlum. Shakima, a Black woman, found herself in the distressing situation while six months pregnant and battling the life-threatening condition preeclampsia. She questioned the nurse at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett as well as reported the derogatory remarks to doctors and was told that the nurse was only joking, according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This overt racial bias against Black women added an unnecessary layer of emotional stress to Shakima’s health concerns. Her unborn son, Jaxson, died in her womb.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kecia Gaither<\/a>, the Director of Perinatal Services\/Maternal Fetal Medicine at NYC Health says this common bias in healthcare is an underlying cause of the vast number of hypertension cases found in Black women during pregnancy.<\/p>\n