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Miriam Zoila Pérez: How racism harms pregnant women and what can help
Miriam Zoila Pérez, a woman from San Francisco, California, speaks about stress and its effects on a growing fetus. Her anxiety was immediately apparent; she said that her heart was pounding, her hands were clammy, she was sweating, and her breath was slightly shallow (Pérez). Although all of her nerve and stress symptoms are natural, she went on to say that prolonged exposure to them would make you sick. I was completely taken aback after seeing the Ted Talk. I had no idea that stress could cause so many complications during pregnancy. ‘Stress during pregnancy can prematurely cause the body to begin working, as stress demonstrates that the womb is not a healthy place for the fetus,’ according to Pérez. “Pain during pregnancy is linked to a variety of other health conditions, including high blood pressure which low birth weight, and may cause a number of health complications, making birth significantly riskier for both parents and infants,” she continues.
Data suggests that individuals with more prejudicial conditions are more likely to have poor health, according to Pérez. It’s tearing my heart apart. Discrimination against an individual for any cause is never acceptable. Every woman is entitled to happiness and safety, as well as the opportunity to give birth to a happy and healthy child. Unfortunately, as shown by the Ted Talk, this is not the case. “Black women are four times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy and childbirth,” according to Perez. “Black women are twice as likely as white women to die within their first year of life, and they are twice as likely to be born too small two to three times as frequently, both indicators of poor development,” she said.
Works Cited
Pérez, Miriam Z. “How Racism Harms Pregnant Women — and What Can Help.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, www.ted.com/talks/miriam_zoila_perez_how_racism_harms_pregnant_women_and_what_can_help.
