ABC News98%
Black physician and health advocate on nearly dying after giving birth 78%
4/18/2026, 1:09:00 AM
BS Summary: This video contains 33 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Indoctrination, and Negativity Bias, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 26.1% saturation with 231 hits. Analysis detected 1,957 faulty-reasoning hits from 884 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 70.6% and a BS Rank of 78% (3,760 of 16,813 videos). This video is worse (more manipulative) than 77.60% of the video peer group.
Welcome back. This week is Black Maternal Health Week.
It's a week that brings attention to racial disparities in pregnancy and childirth.
Research shows that in the United States, black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes or experience severe complications than white women.
Dr. Bio Curry Winshell is a physician and health advocate whose own experience in childbirth as a black mother continues to fuel her work to close this gap.
Our
Lindseay Davis sat down with her.
Welcome to the show, doctor.
Thank you so much for joining us.
So, what does it mean for people who are not familiar with Black Maternal Health Week?
Why is this necessary? Why is it important?
It's necessary because black women are dying at a rate of three to four times than their white counterparts at a point in their life where they are trying to give birth and bring life into the world.
And so when you have one group who is systematically dying at the highest rate in a country that is so robust and rich in technology, it's a problem.
>> And so why is it when when we look into the research, why does this disparity exist?
>> There's multiple reasons.
It's a bias.
It's racism.
It's the fact that black women aren't being believed when they say something is wrong.
And when that happens, we see pregnant women, black pregnant women dying at a rate of just an absurd amount of complications that should never happen.
A
>> and how does your work address those disparities?
Well, this work is personal to me.
As a black physician in a medical system that I'm serve as a medical director, I nearly lost my life.
I came out of the operating room.
I knew something was wrong and I wasn't listened to.
And I was told, "You look fine."
And what happened was after multiple times of being dismissed, I had the privilege of having my doctor's phone number in my phone and my husband called and said, "Something is wrong with bio."
He came back and he believed me.
I was rushed back into the operating room.
I was bleeding internally
and I got transfused multiple units.
So when I'm here sharing my story, it's to show that this happens across all social economics and it goes beyond access that black women are dying at a point in their life where they should be received and welcomed as they're trying to bring their babies into this world.
>> How did the doctors respond to you at that point?
At that point when they knew I was I said something was wrong, they they took a step back and said, "Okay, I can tell that bio isn't who she normally is, but it shouldn't be like that."
And that was only because I was a doctor.
But again, I still wasn't listened to initially by my nurse,
>> which is so surprising. You would think especially you as a doctor that people wouldn't have had to wouldn't have had the opportunity really to to second guessess you.
So what can be done about this to address it on a a systemic level?
>> So the first thing is believing when women say something is wrong, check your bias. Check what you think represents what something is wrong and then investigate it. Listen and learn and figure out why they are sharing that with you.
The other thing that you can do is something that I created.
It's absolutely free out of my own story,
clinicians who care.com where it's a list, a resource that connects people with doctors who have been shown to provide compassionate care.
And compassionate care starts with listening and believing your patients.
Because if you can start there, that's when you're able to check your bias.
That's when you're able to give the care that we are supposed to, which is supposed to represent do no harm.
>> Okay. So, what is your message to people who are out there right now who may be pregnant, who may not be experiencing any um any difficulties, any problems right now during their pregnancy, but are are worried what's going to happen once I get into the hospital?
How can you be your own best advocate?
>> The first thing is to not doubt yourself.
So, if you feel like you're not being heard, you're not being listened to in that moment, honor it.
The second thing is bring a witness.
bring someone with you whether it's in person or over the phone.
So that way you have a voice when you may not be able to speak because that can be a powerful way.
And the other thing is if you feel that you're not getting the care that you deserve, don't be afraid to ask for another doctor, ask for a patient advocate.
Those are real ways that you can stand up for yourself in that moment.
We thank you so much for that moment.
for sharing your own story and for educating us all. Dr. Bio, thank you.
Thank you so much for the time. Thank you for having
Analysis
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