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Dear Friend,
As a doula, the last year has weighed heavy on me and what it means for women, gender non-conforming people, and their families to be pregnant in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The state of maternal health was already in crisis, especially for Black women and Native families and communities.
“The day of discharge I kept telling my nurses that I didn't feel well. I was told my vital signs were good and that I was ready to go home. I got home with my newborn and woke up in the middle of the night sweating. It felt like it was a full-blown fever. After being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, it turns out I developed an infection from the C-section. Now I'm pregnant again and am very scared. I don't want to die in the hospital or after from undiagnosed complications.” Pam, a MomRising parent from Ohio, shared.
Like too many Black moms, Pam fears losing their life to childbirth. Pam survived, but too many moms in our nation do not. Every person giving birth deserves as safe and healthy of an experience as possible and should have the opportunity to watch their child grow up and thrive. Every child should have a chance to have their mother by their side.
Introduced today in Congress, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus is composed of twelve individual bills sponsored by members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus and Senator Cory Booker. The legislation will:
The fear and the danger are real. Right now, the United States is the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world, [1] with major racial disparities where Black women lose their lives at 3 to 4 times more than the rate of white women due to maternity-related causes, independent of age, economic background, or education.[2] This is a fact that has not changed for several decades.[3] COVID-19 adds another dimension of complications from increased anxiety and isolation, to accessing a strained healthcare system, to concerns about vaccines.[4]
Kira Dixon-Johnson, for example, was in excellent health with no pre-existing conditions when on April 12, 2016, she delivered a healthy baby boy. Within 24 hours, however, Kira would lose her life after bleeding internally for over ten hours due to a lacerated bladder.[5] For ten hours her pain and her voice were ignored. For ten hours her family begged for medical intervention to no avail. Kira’s death was preventable and her story illustrates a tragic reality for too many Black moms in our country. Racial disparities in care are needlessly costing lives and sending babies home without their moms.
This is why we need YOUR support to get the Black Maternal Health Momnibus passed by Congress. This package of legislation takes urgent, serious action to end this crisis by building on existing legislation in Congress to comprehensively address every dimension of America’s maternal health crisis.
SIGN our letter now to Congress in support of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus!!
We know that right now, hospitals and healthcare systems are already overburdened. During this time, it’s important to take care of our most vulnerable populations, including pregnant and birthing patients. Legislation like the Momnibus will help us to do this, and also set up the foundations we need to address future health crises impacting our communities.
Together we are a powerful voice in the movement to save moms.
- Tina, Nadia, Donna and the whole MomsRising.org/MamásConPoder Team
[1] U.S. is the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world, NBC News
[4] A Pandemic Pregnancy Is a More Dangerous Pregnancy, The Atlantic
[5] The crisis in America’s maternity wards, The Washington Post
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