Series: What the ICE surge taught us about maternity care (How the system stretched to respond) (Copy)
When a system is forced to stretch, it shows what’s possible | 3 min read
“Don’t forget to tell the whole story.”
That was Sheyanga Beecher’s call to journalists when we reflected on the Minnesota's ICE surge during the Association of Health Care Journalists conference.
Today, the ICE surge has largely faded from the headlines.
But that’s not the whole story.
When I talked to leaders across Minnesota’s maternal health ecosystem for my latest Postpartum Support Internationalarticle, they all stressed the same thing.
The mental health impact didn’t end when the surge did:
- Many patients still avoid clinics, hospitals, and health settings
- Parents are carrying trauma from months of living on edge. One provider shared: “It was too much for new moms, the thought of being separated from their babies and the unknown of what would happen."
- Children are carrying trauma, watching their parents get detained, deported, or separated from family, or experiencing detention themselves. One clinical leader shared that a little boy is now hypersensitive to bright lights after days in detention.
- Providers are carrying trauma from the preventable suffering and loss they witnessed. One midwife admitted: “My nervous system was on high alert. I’m still not sure how to fully process the trauma I saw.”
- Care teams continue to see anxiety, hypervigilance, and trauma among new and pregnant moms. As one therapist put it: “Anxiety is too mild of a word."
As Munira Maalimisaq from Inspire Change Clinic shared: “We are now several months past the peak of enforcement activity, yet we are still seeing persistent distrust in health systems.”
That's the part of the story I hope people remember.
The surge may be over. But the fear, trauma, and distrust it created are still here today.
Now we have to help families heal.
📣 That responsibility belongs to all of us: healthcare leaders, policymakers, journalists, employers, advocates, and community organizations.
Rebuilding trust is work, but it's essential.
📷 Photo courtesy of the Association of Health Care Journalists
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