black maternal health
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New Postpartum Depression Drug Offers Hope for Suffering Mothers—but Most Won't Be Able to Afford It
A new drug specifically for the swift and effective treatment of postpartum depression was approved by the FDA on Tuesday, offering a beacon of hope for the serious mental illness that affects about 1 in 8 new mothers. That’s the good news. The not-so-great news is that this new drug ain’t cheap; neither is it…
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Black Women Deserve the Truth From Their Doctors. Trump Is Trying to Keep Us in the Dark
When I was 19 years old, I walked into a health center in Michigan knowing I was pregnant but uncertain of my future. To this day, I remember the compassion and grace of the nurse who helped me, who saw me scared and crying but calmly let me know that I had options. I could…
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Stacey Abrams' Response to the SOTU Gave a Much-Needed Nod to Black Maternal Health
“Maternal mortality rates show that mothers, especially Black mothers, risk death to give birth.” — Stacey Abrams It was only one of many powerful points made by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in the Democrats’ response to Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday night. But for The Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Abrams’ reference…
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Days After Giving Birth to a Healthy Baby Girl, Remy Ma Required Emergency Surgery
It should be one of the happiest moments in rapper and reality star Remy Ma’s and husband Papoose’s lives, but it has now possibly become one of the scariest. In a scenario that has become terrifyingly familiar, on Wednesday, TMZ reported that Remy suffered complications from giving birth in the days following delivery of their…
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Fertility Issues Are More Common Than We Think. Why Haven't We Learned How to Talk About It?
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series. Pregnancy has long been perceived (some might say misconstrued) as something “normal” women can readily achieve. There is a presumption that it’s a natural and easy occurrence. Black and brown women have long been specifically plagued by the stereotype that we are over-productive reproductive machines.…
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Black Patients on Pain Medication Are More Likely to Be Tested for Illicit Drugs, New Study Finds
That racism and implicit bias have affected and infected the American medical community—and the way patients are treated—is not news. But thanks to a slew of recent studies, we know in greater detail how and where those impacts can be felt. A new study led by Yale researchers adds to this growing body of evidence;…
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Why Giving Birth Is Deadly for Black Women … and Why It Might Get Worse
Mothers dying during pregnancy and childbirth is a crisis most Americans believe impacts only countries experiencing extreme poverty with shortages of food, health care providers, medicine, water and housing. Most people think of developing or war-torn nations where there are inadequate hospitals and little government infrastructure. But when it comes to maternal health and mortality…
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Do You Know Someone Who Died or Nearly Died in Childbirth? Help Us Investigate Maternal Health
By many measures, the United States has become the most dangerous industrialized nation in which to give birth. For black women, the risks are particularly high. Black mothers are three to four times more likely than white mothers to die from pregnancy and childbirth. They’re twice as likely to nearly die from complications such as…
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#Justice4Kyira Means Justice for Black Mothers Everywhere
Kyira Dixon Johnson’s story is one of the thousands, if not millions, of black mothers who have died because of the history of an inadequate health care system in this country. She is one of too many black mothers who have died because of this country’s legacy of structural racism. Kyira Johnson, affectionately called Kira…
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This Mother’s Day, Raise Your Voice for Black Maternal Health
The image of a group of white men in suits celebrating the passage of a health care bill that would snatch away affordable access to health care from millions of people—including those living in poverty, people of color, people with disabilities or mental-health issues, and women planning to give birth—is one that will forever be…