black maternal health
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As Part of a $3 Million Investment, Serena Williams Adds Her Power to the Fight Against Maternal Mortality
What does it mean when the most recognizable female athlete in the world can’t get the attention she needs when suffering complications after giving birth? For Serena Williams, it meant becoming intimately familiar with the crisis currently facing so many black expectant mothers—the threat of a life-or-death outcome. Williams, who documented her own harrowing journey…
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Kamala Harris Reintroduces Bill Addressing the Black Maternal Healthcare Crisis
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris reintroduced the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (Maternal CARE) Act on Wednesday, her 2018 bill that seeks to address the ongoing black maternal health crisis. “Black mothers across the country are facing a health crisis that is driven in part by implicit bias in our health care system. We must…
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Save Our Moms: Lena Waithe Joins MTV and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to Fight Black Maternal Mortality
Of the many ways in which the United States has long been considered a global leader, there is one which is deeply shameful. “In the past three decades in the U.S., the number of women who die from pregnancy-related complications has more than doubled,” says Lena Waithe, in a new PSA. “Over half of these…
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In the Face of the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis, This Doula Is Providing Expectant Mothers With the Support and Care They Desperately Deserve
The story has to be told in such a way where we’re not making people lose hope. text The specific “story” Chanel Porchia-Albert is referring to is that of the black maternal mortality crisis. She knows all about the daunting statistics surrounding black motherhood as a mother of six and the CEO of Ancient Song…
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Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley Introduce Sweeping Bill to Prevent Pregnancy-Related Deaths Among Black Women
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will unveil on Wednesday legislation aimed at tackling America’s rising maternal mortality rates, particularly among black mothers, among whom death rates related to childbirth and pregnancy are highest. Introduced days before Mother’s Day, the Maximizing Outcomes for Moms through Medicaid Improvement and Enhancement of Services, or the MOMMIES Act, comprises two…
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Now That We Know There’s a Maternal Mortality Crisis, How Can We Help Fix It?
If you are outraged by the maternal health crisis—and you should be—where black women are dying disproportionately from preventable childbirth-related causes and mistreatment, here’s what you can do: Get Involved. I caught up with Elizabeth Dawes Gay, co-director of the Black Mama’s Matter Alliance (BMMA) this week, and she was clear: “There is something that…
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Fox’s The Resident Partners With Activist to Shine Light on America’s Maternal Mortality Crisis
“Lea Davies wasn’t a priority.” So said Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal) on Monday night’s episode of The Resident, a fast-moving, gripping procedural drama on Fox starring The Good Wife’s Matt Czuchry, Malcolm Jamal Warner as Dr. AJ Austin, and Shaunette Renée Wilson as Dr. Mina Okafor. Monday’s episode, “If Not Now, When?” is dedicated…
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Black Maternal Health: When the Village Itself May Be Too Toxic
The recent intense media focus on high rates of maternal mortality in the U.S.—especially for African-American women—has been a mixed blessing. It has raised much-needed awareness about the rising rates of maternal deaths and disability happening during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Yet those startling statistics have added more stress and burden on women who absorb…
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Black Mothers Matter: Reps. Alma Adams and Lauren Underwood Launch the Black Maternal Health Caucus
As the war of words on any number of hot-button issues—including immigration, the environment and equal pay—continue among United States lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, two black congresswomen are ensuring black mothers and children don’t get lost in shuffle. On Tuesday morning, freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Il.) joined Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) in…
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It’s Becoming More Evident: The Stress of Racism Is Killing Our Babies…and Us
If A=B, and B=C, does A=C? Well, not always, but in the case of stress, racism and preterm birth, one researcher thinks there’s a definitive case to be made. The jarring statistics are already out there: African-American women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women. Additionally, African-American…