Clinician Perspectives on Navigating Conversations Around Racial Disparities in Obstetrics

Discussions around racial disparities in obstetrics occur in varied silos including the media, communities, and medical institutions. Yet, whether and how these discussions occur in the context of the patient-clinician relationship is unknown. We sought to explore clinician perspectives on conversations with patients regarding racial disparities in maternal health using a qualitative approach.

We enrolled perinatal clinicians (N=14) across two hospitals within one academic health system from August 2023 to March 2024, purposively sampled by self-identified race or ethnicity and role until thematic saturation was achieved. Semistructured interviews using the Health Equity Implementation Framework evaluated prior experience with and optimization of disparities counseling, focusing on patient-clinician race concordance, comfort levels, barriers, ideal circumstances, and recommended content for conversations about racial disparities in maternal health. Interviews were coded with a content analysis approach by two coders with high interrater reliability (κ>0.8).

Clinicians universally recognized the effect of race, specifically racism, on U.S. maternal outcomes. Conversations about racial disparities most frequently arose 1) when Black patients voiced fears of dying or concerns about bias in their care or 2) in the context of recommending aspirin for preeclampsia risk reduction. Black clinicians felt more comfortable with these discussions, attributed to lived experience and practice. Although most clinicians agreed that conversations with patients about racial disparities are important, they identified barriers such as fear of patient reactions (particularly with discordant race), time constraints, and unclear actionable response.

Our findings, along with ongoing work on the patient perspective, highlight the need for respectful, informed conversations centering patient experiences. As awareness of racial disparities grows, perinatal clinicians must develop capabilities for discussing race constructively, practicing relationship-centered care, and promoting psychologic safety for Black patients.