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Rachel Hardiman has always known that racism and healthcare go hand in hand.

Because as a kid and just growing up as a black person in our society, it was very clear

to me just from watching my family and other folks, it was very clear that not everyone

has the same opportunities.

From things like access to basic healthcare to being able to see a doctor who understands

your particular life experience.

So Rachel went on to dedicate her career to understanding the role race plays in all

of this as a health equity researcher and professor at the University of Minnesota.

With the focus on racism and understanding the ways that racism gets under the skin and

impacts the health outcomes for black moms and babies.

In the US, black infants die at over twice the rate of white infants.

And there's an even greater racial disparity when you look at the mortality rates of the

person giving birth.

That's something Rachel wants to change by first understanding why.

We know that chronic or sort of toxic stress across the life course contributes to adverse

birth outcomes for black moms and babies.

So because of racism and other social disadvantages that are playing out in people's lives, they

come into pregnancy less healthy.

Rachel and a team of colleagues wanted to find out even more about the reasons behind

the disproportionately high mortality rates for black-burthing people and their babies.

What about the race of the doctor at the time of birth?

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