Kyla Pratt, known for her roles in television and film, including One on One, shared a personal experience of feeling dismissed by a care provider during her second pregnancy.
Pratt was a guest on the upcoming episode of the Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Recipe for Change, a SpringHill show, which focuses on necessary conversations around important issues.
In the episode titled “Revolutionizing Black Motherhood,” Pratt joined other Black women, including Tatyana Ali, Melanie Fiona, Lizzy Mathis, and Kim Durdin, to discuss their healthcare experiences.
During the conversation, Pratt recounted a moment during her second pregnancy when she felt her concerns were disregarded by a care provider.
Despite experiencing contractions, the nurse initially dismissed Pratt’s claims, only for her doctor to confirm that she was indeed in labor and needed an emergency C-section due to being 6 centimeters dilated.
She made the following remarks:
“I remember for my second pregnancy, I went into labor early. Being in the hospital, I told the nurse there I was having contractions’; she looked at the machine and said, ‘No, you weren’t,’ and I said, ‘Yes I am. I’ve done this before; go get my doctor.’”
“Luckily, standing up for myself in that moment, my daughter is here now. She went to get my doctor; my doctor said, ‘You’re 6-centimeters dilated, and we have to do an emergency C-section. But because I was so small, it wasn’t showing up on the machine. In that moment, I didn’t really recognize when people weren’t listening to me because I was young, because I am Black, because I am a woman.”
Reflecting on the experience, Pratt spoke about the importance of advocating for oneself, especially as a Black woman navigating the healthcare system.
Her story sheds light on the ongoing challenges Black women face in receiving proper care and highlights the need for transformation within the healthcare industry to ensure that all women, regardless of race, receive the support and attention they deserve during pregnancy and childbirth.
Watch the episode below:
