Recently, Dr. Karen Scott, OB hospitalist at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, CA, was quoted in an NBC News feature article titled “The elephant in the delivery room: How doctor bias hurts brown and black mothers.” The story focuses on the poor treatment minority women report experiencing in the delivery room due to ethnicity, cultural background, or language.
In one of her quotes, Dr. Scott says: “African Americans in the highest socioeconomic group experience the same or higher rates of infant mortality, low birthweight, and high blood pressure and excess weight during pregnancy in comparison with white women in the lowest socioeconomic statuses.”