Publication Date
6-17-2026
Abstract
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of all industrialized nations. Yet, most pregnancy-related deaths are considered preventable. As a result, ensuring birthing people’s access to respectful and equitable maternity care is an essential component of addressing the U.S. maternal health crisis. Maternal mistreatment is a common experience in the United States: one in five birthing people report experiencing mistreatment while receiving maternity care, and among birthing people of color, the prevalence of mistreatment is even greater. While maternal mistreatment is a well-documented phenomenon, existing scholarship has largely focused on physicians’ roles in these dynamics, leaving the influence of other healthcare professionals—particularly nurses—largely overlooked. Drawing on digital narratives shared on TikTok, this study examines how birthing people in the United States recount experiences of nurse-led maternal mistreatment and how race shapes these encounters. Content analysis of 88 TikTok videos revealed that dismissed health and emotional concerns, along with encounters with rude or dismissive providers, were among the most common forms of mistreatment. Findings also suggest that race shapes birthing people’s experiences of mistreatment. By centering first-person digital narratives from TikTok, this research offers novel insight into nurse–patient interactions during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while also underscoring the importance of birthing people’s perspectives in efforts to understand and address maternal health inequities in the United States.