Black, Indigenous and people of color giving birth were more likely than white people to experience health providers coercing them to go along with procedures they did not want, or to have their lack of explicit consent disregarded altogether, according to a new study.
The new research, published Thursday in the journal Birth, provides a sweeping look at how birthing experiences differ dramatically for pregnant people of color compared to pregnant white people.
For instance, the study reported that 51% percent of BIPOC people surveyed said they received nonconsented procedures — such as getting an epidural or drugs to speed their labor— during perinatal care or while having a vaginal birth that they did not consent to. The corresponding figure for white people was 36%.
