The prenatal care color line and Latina migrant motherhood

Drawing from ethnographic research with Latin American migrant mothers seeking prenatal care at a safety net clinic in southern Connecticut, I describe the racial dynamics of a medical hierarchy that situates White providers and nurses above Black and Brown medical assistants and patients, terming this the prenatal care color line. I characterize three segments of the prenatal care color line: through (1) onerous enrollment in prenatal care support that strips rights from migrant mothers; (2) differences in racialized embodiment that harden essentialist and stereotyped notions surrounding Latinx reproduction, making the experience of pregnancy and birth a process of race-making; and (3) obstetric racism manifest through both denying or delaying critical medical care to Latinx pregnant patients while also overmedicalizing their uncomplicated births. I argue that the presence of the prenatal care color line-in my study clinic as in other safety net clinics-permits the harsher racialization of Latinx birthers.

Automated summary

Based on ethnographic research with Latin American migrant mothers in a safety net clinic, this article examines the racial dynamics within the medical hierarchy, identifying a prenatal care color line that places white providers and nurses above black and brown medical assistants and patients. The author discusses three aspects of this color line: the burdensome enrollment process for migrant mothers, the racialized embodiment of Latinx reproduction, and obstetric racism that denies or delays medical care for Latinx pregnant patients. The presence of this color line in safety net clinics exacerbates the racialization of Latinx birthers.