Bostick, Aubrey; Hill, Huiying (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Hill, Huiying (Weber State University, Sociology and Anthropology)
Infant mortality rates for black women are significantly higher than white women. More specifically, during high risk pregnancies. These include pregnancies for women before the age of 20, and between the ages of 40-54. Through quantitative and qualitative secondary analysis utilizing conflict theory, the research indicates environmental and socioeconomic impacts derived from eugenicist practices that uniquely impact black pregnant women. Eugenicist practices are at the root of infant mortality rates for pregnant black women as a consequence of exploitation that formulates modern reproductive care. First, environmental factors to be explored include food deserts, gentrification, geographic location to healthcare centers, and pollution. These factors are essential to explore because they directly create internal factors. Which is why the second area of exploration is the stress of being a pregnant black woman. These factors include societal pressure, medical pressure, and a lack of preventative reproductive and post pregnancy care. Both environmental and internal factors stem from cyclical poverty, and produce chronic healthcare conditions that yield infant mortality. This research offers the unique consideration of diet, and disproportionate access to medical care while encompassing the history of modern reproductive care. This research has the capacity to create a dynamic approach to reducing infant mortality rates specifically for at-risk pregnant black women.