Graded assignment 1 – Steffie Coolen – 2135425
1) What social issue is being discussed in the article, and why is it a social problem?
(Use the six criteria of schuyt).
The social issue: Obstetricians are more like to give black women unnecessary cesarean
sections, than white women with similar medical histories (Kliff, 2024).
Social problem:
1) Problem involves many people:
The research shows that 30% of all the babies in the United States are delivered via C-
section, this is double the proportion deemed appropriate by the World Health
Organization. Black women are 25% more likely to have C-sections than white
women. Among the women who arrived health and who had few risk factors, the gap
was even larger, with black women more than twice as likely to be given C-sections
(Kliff, 2024).
So, this problems involves all the black women in America than are pregnant.
2) ‘Private troubles’:
The unnecessary c-sections put women at higher risk of serious complications, like
ruptured surgical wounds.
They need more time to recovery than with a vaginal birth, this could lead to a longer
hospital stay.
Unnecessary higher medical bills. (A c-sections is $17.000 and a vaginal birth
$11.500) (Kliff, 2024).
C-sections were linked to lower odds of successful breastfeeding.
3) Accumulation of problems:
Because doctors may unconsciously use different thresholds for women of different
races, black women are more likely to be miss diagnosed. This leads to worse birth
outcomes for black women.
Because of being miss diagnosed, racial disparities or financial incentives black
women are more likely to have c-sections than white women. The research shows that
the c-sections that were given to prevent harm when the operating rooms were
otherwise empty led to more surgical complications (Kliff, 2024).
4) Not temporary/persistent:
C-sections are the most common surgery in American hospitals, despite years of
advocacy to lessen its use (Kliff, 2024).
(The article speaks about research about the analyzed medical records of women in the
United States from 2008 to 2017, a research from 2022 and new research that is
happening right now).
5) Systematic causes:
“That really is the driver of so much that happens in medicine” = hospitals like to stay
busy, there is a big price differences between vaginal birth and a c-section. The article
talks about following the money that hospitals are earning. And that there is a c-
section increase when the operation rooms are empty. That suggests that racial bias
paired with financial incentives played a role in doctors’ decision making.
1) What social issue is being discussed in the article, and why is it a social problem?
(Use the six criteria of schuyt).
The social issue: Obstetricians are more like to give black women unnecessary cesarean
sections, than white women with similar medical histories (Kliff, 2024).
Social problem:
1) Problem involves many people:
The research shows that 30% of all the babies in the United States are delivered via C-
section, this is double the proportion deemed appropriate by the World Health
Organization. Black women are 25% more likely to have C-sections than white
women. Among the women who arrived health and who had few risk factors, the gap
was even larger, with black women more than twice as likely to be given C-sections
(Kliff, 2024).
So, this problems involves all the black women in America than are pregnant.
2) ‘Private troubles’:
The unnecessary c-sections put women at higher risk of serious complications, like
ruptured surgical wounds.
They need more time to recovery than with a vaginal birth, this could lead to a longer
hospital stay.
Unnecessary higher medical bills. (A c-sections is $17.000 and a vaginal birth
$11.500) (Kliff, 2024).
C-sections were linked to lower odds of successful breastfeeding.
3) Accumulation of problems:
Because doctors may unconsciously use different thresholds for women of different
races, black women are more likely to be miss diagnosed. This leads to worse birth
outcomes for black women.
Because of being miss diagnosed, racial disparities or financial incentives black
women are more likely to have c-sections than white women. The research shows that
the c-sections that were given to prevent harm when the operating rooms were
otherwise empty led to more surgical complications (Kliff, 2024).
4) Not temporary/persistent:
C-sections are the most common surgery in American hospitals, despite years of
advocacy to lessen its use (Kliff, 2024).
(The article speaks about research about the analyzed medical records of women in the
United States from 2008 to 2017, a research from 2022 and new research that is
happening right now).
5) Systematic causes:
“That really is the driver of so much that happens in medicine” = hospitals like to stay
busy, there is a big price differences between vaginal birth and a c-section. The article
talks about following the money that hospitals are earning. And that there is a c-
section increase when the operation rooms are empty. That suggests that racial bias
paired with financial incentives played a role in doctors’ decision making.
