Brittany Watts case raises issue of high risk for childbirth for Black women

A Trumbull County grand jury declined to indict Brittany Watts earlier this month on charges that she abused a corpse after she miscarried and unsuccessfully attempted to dispose the remains down a toilet — the place, by the way, where most miscarriages occur.

The jury clearly took into account that Ohio law lacks a precise definition of what constitutes a "human corpse."

The jurors also may have considered Watts' intent in light of reports that prior to the miscarriage, she went to the emergency room at Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Warren — twice — and was sent home — twice. According to her medical reports, Watts was informed by her doctor that the fetus was nonviable and that inducing labor could cause her significant risk.

Because the case emerged on the heels of Ohioans voting to uphold abortion rights, no one could be blamed for wondering if Watts wasn't being scapegoated.

Watts, 34, was reported to the police by a nurse after she returned to the hospital following her miscarriage. According to media reports, the nurse told police that Watts informed her that she removed a portion of the remains from the toilet after it clogged and buried it in her back yard.

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An autopsy found that the 22-week-old fetus died in utero and was uninjured.

In a perfect world, Watts' case would be used to highlight a larger issue, namely that childbirth has been a high and persistent risk for Black women.

Because of poverty, chronic illnesses and less access to health care, Black women have the highest mortality rate in the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports that the rate of maternal death for Black mothers is 69.9 women per 100,000 live births — three times the rate for white women.

A 2023 Associated Press investigation found another factor for the disparity in maternal death rates is that too many doctors ignoring Black women's medical complaints or not taking them seriously.

Black women with wealth and status aren't immune. In 2022, tennis legend Serena Williams told USA Today that she would have died following the birth of her daughter Alex had she not insisted that medical personnel conduct tests for blood clots. Williams had been taking medication for her condition, but was not taking it during her pregnancy.

In other words, being a world-class athlete who's always in tune with her own body, saved her life.

Imagine what happens to other women who are not athletes, who trust that medical professionals are performing their due diligence.

According to statistics from the Ohio Department of Health, Black babies are 2.8 times more likely to die than white infants, due to many of the same factors.

Last year, Columbus Axios published a 10-year study by the Journal of American Medical Association which found that:

• Black women in Ohio are more than five times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than the state average.

• Ohio's overall mortality rate rose from 10.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1999 to 10.8 in 2019, however, the rate fluctuated wildly during that time, with a low of 5.3 in 2001 and a high of 29.7 in 2016; but for Black women in Ohio, the rate spiked from 29.3 to 59.7.

Locally, Canton City Public Health offers Stark County THRIVE, a pregnancy-risk reduction program for Black families that has been working to reduce disparities through education and promote prenatal health care services.

When Stark County THRIVE was launched in 2013, Ohio had one of the highest Black fetal-mortality rates in the country compared to white infants.

THRIVE, which stands for Toward Health Resiliency and Infant Vitality & Equity, offers clients assistance in connecting to services for baby items, mental health, employment, transportation, food, housing, health insurance, safe sleep education and substance abuse prevention.

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It appears that, like Serena Williams, Brittany Watts wasn't heeded or taken seriously and it led to her miscarriage and an action that she probably wishes she could take back.

Fortunately, a jury of her peers was wise enough to understand that making a bad decision after losing a pregnancy shouldn't be a crime.

To learn more about Stark County THRIVE, visit https://www.cantonhealth.org/thrive/ or call 234-410-3087.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Brittany Watts case raises issues around Black childbirth