A new study led by scientists at Columbia University in New York has found women who experienced gendered racial microaggressions during pregnancy or delivery are more likely to experience high blood pressure in their first three months postpartum.
The study authors recruited a sample of 373 Asian, Black, and Hispanic women who delivered at four hospitals in Philadelphia and New York City in 2022 and asked them how often they experienced microaggressions during their obstetrical care. Following delivery, the participants were asked to periodically measure their blood pressure at home for their first three months postpartum. Additionally, the authors estimated each participants’ encounters with community-level structural racism based on the national Structural Racism Effect Index.
Upon analyzing their results, the authors found that over one-third of all participants experienced at least one gendered racial microaggression during pregnancy or delivery. The three-month average systolic and diastolic blood pressures of these participants were 2.12 mm Hg and 1.43 mm Hg higher than participants who did not encounter microagressions. Participants who experienced microaggressions and lived in areas with high levels of structural racism had average systolic and diaslotic measurements that were 7.55 mm Hg and 6.03 mm Hg higher than women who did not repot microaggression experiences and lived in communities with low-level structural racism.
The authors believe their findings provide evidence that increased exposure to racism may be contributing to the persistent racial inequities in maternal healthcare. They urge providers and policymakers to focus on improving maternal hypertension management and suggest future research should focus on identifying the most effective interventions that reduce gendered racial microaggressions in healthcare.
In addition to Columbia University, the research team included scholars from the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the University of Maryland.