[As Black birthing people remain three times more likely to die
during childbirth than white people, racism — both in and outside
the medical system — plays a huge factor. ]
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TORI BOWIE AND THE DISTURBING REALITY OF RISING BLACK MATERNAL
MORTALITY  
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Sage Howard
June 14, 2023
Huff Post
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_ As Black birthing people remain three times more likely to die
during childbirth than white people, racism — both in and outside
the medical system — plays a huge factor. _

Tori Bowie, the sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio
de Janeiro Games, died at age 32 while in labor., Via Associated Press


 

The release of track and field athlete Tori Bowie’s autopsy
results
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this week devastated not only her fans, but the Black community at
large — we are far too familiar with pregnancy-related complications
and even death.

The three-time Olympic medalist was found unresponsive in her home
last month by authorities who were responding to a wellness check.
Bowie, 32, was reportedly eight months pregnant
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in labor at the time of her death; it also appeared that her family
was not aware of her pregnancy. Respiratory distress and eclampsia are
listed as possible complications in the autopsy, which was first
obtained by USA Today
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Bowie is the latest high-profile Black woman whose pregnancy-related
complications shed light on the overall traumatic experiences of Black
birthing people. In a 2018 essay for Vogue, tennis star Serena
Williams shared
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near-death post-birthing experience. In it, she describes the hospital
staff’s dismissal of her concerns over numbness in her legs after
giving birth, an indication that something was terribly wrong — and
it was. When insisted on further testing, her medical team resisted at
first because they apparently didn’t deem it necessary. That very
testing likely saved her life.

If these are the experiences of super famous and wealthy Black people,
it’s fair to imagine what birthing is like for the average Black
person with less money, notoriety and, in many cases, no insurance.

A few years ago, an alarming report-turned-exploratory-piece in The
New York Times Magazine shed light on
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Black women were dying of pregnancy-related conditions at far higher
rates than their non-Black counterparts. And while maternal mortality
rates have dropped
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medicine modernized in developed countries such as Australia, Japan
and the Netherlands, Black women continue to be disproportionately
endangered in the U.S.

And I do not mince words when I tell you that if Black birthing people
remain three times more likely
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die during childbirth than white people, racism — both in and
outside the medical system — plays a huge factor. Perhaps the
wildest part is that rates have continued to rise
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the past five years.

Studies also show that Black birthing people are more
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to develop preeclampsia, a condition marked by elevated blood
pressure, harmful protein in the urine, headaches, shortness of breath
and nausea. While serious, it can be monitored and managed through
routine prenatal visits and the appropriate medical interventions to
prevent the more rare
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complication that likely killed Bowie: eclampsia.

Bowie’s story and the context of Black maternal mortality are
frightening. The potential dangers of birthing are often among the
first things Black birthing people consider
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they learn they are pregnant. It’s also led to increased investment
in Black doula programs
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interest in alternative birthing
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such as home births and birthing centers, over traditional hospital
labor and delivery units.

But these problems should not be ours alone to solve. There’s been a
collective push from several communities to implement systemic
policies to reduce morbidity rates among Black birthing people. These
policies include ensuring access to free or affordable health care to
the nearly 8 million uninsured
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of reproductive age.

Bowie should be here with us, celebrating her new life as a mother as
well as her accomplishments as an athlete. Instead, we are mourning
the loss of her incredible life in a country that can’t seem to
prioritize Black people’s maternal health. We’re being robbed of
our Black mothers, friends, caregivers, role models, and icons, and
it’s not okay. We’re not okay.

_Sage Howard is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer who pens stories
about Black experiences & visions for the future._

 

* black maternal mortality
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* medical industry
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* Racism
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