Williams: ‘Doctors Aren’t Listening’
posted by Keyona Smith | May 4, 2018 | In News, Opinion, SportsWe are used to watching the American tennis champion Serena Willilams dominate the courts, even against her own sister, Venus Williams, but this time she’s up against a much bigger opponent, doctors, and not so obvious cause, racial health disparities.
Williams just recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Alexis Olympia, but the experience and procedure proved to be much more challenging than any player, racket, or backhand against her.
Williams told BBC during an interview, “Doctors aren’t listening.”
She continued to delve into great detail about her childbirth experience in a published piece by CNN, which turned out to be life threatening, beginning with an emergency cesarean section. Lucky for Williams, she was familiar with her medical history. Serena knew what her body was up against and had become familiar with her symptoms due to previous complications with pulmonary embolism. After her childbirth she said she told nurses what she needed, and they did not listen. She admited she is lucky to have survived the slew of complications that were sparked after being ignored including her surgical incision being re-opened.
“Doctors aren’t listening to us, just to be frank. We’re dying… three time more likely,” Williams said. “To imagine all the other women who do go through that with the same healthcare. Again, it’s upsetting.”
According to the CDC, the risk of pregnancy related death for Black women is three to four time higher than for White women. As reported by the Los Angeles Times and Blavity, a 2016 report in Texas revealed that Black women accounted for 11.4 percent of total births in 2011 and 2012 while making up 28.8 percent of pregnancy related deaths.
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