内容摘要：“I have a daughter to keep afloat,” she said. “It’s not like I have the option to wait and pay for things, for food.”

“I have a daughter to keep afloat,” she said. “It’s not like I have the option to wait and pay for things, for food.”

Joseph hires midwives who can relate to patients. One gave birth to the first of her six children at 16 years old with the help of a midwife. Another was born to a teen mom, grew up without much money and joined the organization to help people who often don’t get access to midwifery care.On a recent afternoon, Kayleigh Sturrup arrived for a clinic checkup a few weeks before giving birth to her first child. During the pregnancy, she had uterine fibroids, ligament pain and shortness of breath. She said the midwives gave her “a layer of support.”

Experts say health care providers are more likely to spot potential problems when they listen closely to patients and take what they say seriously.Before examining Sturrup, midwife Celena Brown asked: “How we feeling?”Midwife Celena Brown speaks with Kayleigh Sturrup during a pregnancy checkup. Midwives at Commonsense Childbirth are striving to provide good, accessible care. (AP Photo/Laura Ungar)

Midwife Celena Brown speaks with Kayleigh Sturrup during a pregnancy checkup. Midwives at Commonsense Childbirth are striving to provide good, accessible care. (AP Photo/Laura Ungar)“Nervous and excited,” the 31-year-old replied. “As it comes closer, I worry: Am I going to be able to cope with the pain?”

“It’s normal to feel nervous,” Brown assured her. “You want to be open to the entire process. You got this. You can do it!”

Brown said she’s constantly awed by her patients’ strength. She recalled a teen just out of jail who overcame addiction and wound up giving birth vaginally without pain medication.The analysis found Latinos are experiencing a disproportionate number of new infections and diagnoses across the U.S., with diagnosis rates highest in the Southeast. Public health officials in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and Shelby County, Tennessee, where data shows diagnosis rates have gone up among Latinos, told KFF Health News and the AP that they either don’t have specific plans to address HIV in this population or that plans are still in the works. Even in well-resourced places like San Francisco, HIV diagnosis rates grew among Latinos in the last few years while falling among other racial and ethnic groups despite the county’s goals to reduce infections among Latinos.

“HIV disparities are not inevitable,” Dr. Robyn Neblett Fanfair, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, said in a statement. She noted the systemic, cultural and economic inequities — such as racism, language differences and medical mistrust.Fernando Hermida stands for a portrait against the skyline of Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

Fernando Hermida stands for a portrait against the skyline of Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)And though the CDC provides some funds for minority groups, Latino health policy advocates want the federal government to declare a public health emergency in hopes of directing more money to Latino communities, saying current efforts aren’t enough.