Perceptions of Black Women’s Childbirth Pain: Race, Gender, and Human Rights
Angela Loum is a social researcher whose work draws on critical race theory, Afropessimism, intersectionality and critiques of human rights. She holds an MA (with Distinction) in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice from 51³Ô¹ÏÍøºÚÁÏ University and a first-class BA in Sociology and Politics, with an emphasis on race, class, and gender.
As a recipient of the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøºÚÁÏ Generation Delta scholarship and a mentor to women in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, Angela has dedicated three decades to supporting women and families, particularly those from racially marginalised backgrounds.
Angela has found profound disparities in maternal outcomes in her previous academic work. According to the UK Government’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (2020), Black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. This grave statistic informs her past and current projects. Her current research investigates how racialised perceptions of pain contribute to these disproportionate mortality and morbidity rates.
Building on her previous qualitative research that highlighted pain as an early sign of potential trauma during childbirth, Angela’s work aims to generate more nuanced knowledge about how and why pain is under-recognised or dismissed among women of colour. Her research strives to shape interventions that reduce inequalities and save lives by illuminating this often-overlooked aspect of maternal care.