What About Us?

Shalon Irving was a 36 year old epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, she became pregnant with her first child. Three weeks after giving birth, she collapsed then died leaving her newborn baby—- motherless. This is one of many sad stories and this is happening to African American women around the country. We are dying and no one is noticing.

It may surprise you to know that black women are 2 to 6 times more likely to die in pregnancy than white women. It seems we are undervalued and this is going unrecognized. Dr.

Allison Bryant Mantha is the vice chair of Quality, Equity and Safety in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "All told, some African-American women are probably entering pregnancy less healthy than other women," she said. Black women also experience more complications during pregnancy than other groups of women. Celebrities like Serena Williams are among those women. So why is America ignoring this problem and failing us? When a mother dies, it affects her family and the newborn child. So why is this not a concern for those who can do something about it?

THIS IS URGENT! It is important for us, as African American women, to take better care of ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. We have to know the warning signs during and after pregnancy. We have to understand what care we are receiving and educate ourselves. As usual, if no one is going to notice that we are dying in childbirth, we have to look out for ourselves. Our lives and the future of our families depend on it.