Bodies and the border of the skin: reflections on maternal death and racism

Abstract

Idealized and romanticized by some people. Undesired by others. A destiny for some, an option for others, motherhood is not experienced in the same way by all people who give birth. Bodies bear marks and intersections that situate them socially, so that gestation and childbirth are not unique experiences, and can even be dangerous verbs to conjugate and experience. Far from being repeated in the same way, given that this process is framed politically, culturally and socially, social markers differentiate the experience of motherhood and, often, threaten it. Considering the data on maternal death, black bodies are the ones that drive the statistics. The article presented here is the result of preliminary questions about racism and maternal death, based on a multi-sited study, still ongoing, in the city of João Pessoa (PB). In this way, I outline a path of the formation of Brazil under the motto of “racial democracy”, whose effects on pregnancies and postpartum periods should be analyzed from an intersectional perspective, with the contributions of black feminism being of great importance. Brazilian racism, hidden under the idea of a “racial democracy”, is one of the main elements that increase the numbers on maternal mortality, acting in different ways, mainly through institutional racism. In order to implement truly efficient public health policies in the Brazilian context, consistent with global health guidelines, it is necessary to recognize and demolish the racist structure that has historically sustained the country, with anti-racist literacy and the proposals of the black women’s movement being indispensable for this purpose.