When it comes to Black Maternal Health in D.C., the numbers speak for themselves.
Black women are responsible for around half of all births in the District, yet represent up to 90% of pregnancy-related deaths. More than 80% of those maternal deaths in D.C. occur among Black women in neighborhoods East of the Anacostia River.
On Friday, Howard University Hospital recognized Black Maternal Health week with a community baby shower meant to focus on this issue and what steps are being taken to address it.
Attendees were able to establish care at the hospital, along with receiving free health screenings, take home infant and toddler supplies, and even enjoy complimentary maternity photos.
Dr. Shari Lawson, who chairs the hospital’s OB/GYN department, says events like this aim to break down the walls of mistrust many Black women have that have been built by historic and current institutional abuse and mistreatment.
She went on to say that although many Black women have lost their lives as a result, even more are forced to live with the scars.
“Every death is a monumental loss to that family, but there are also a hundred women who’ve done everything up to dying,” she explains. “So whether they needed blood transfusions, whether they needed to be admitted to the ICU, they had prolonged hospitalizations because they had complicated births, or they had a hysterectomy or other birth traumas, we also need to consider that about Black Maternal Health Week.”
This call to action is also being heard in neighboring Prince George’s County.
Dr. Diane Young, Division Director of the county’s health department, says the lack of care many Black women experience is consistent, regardless of education or income level, and around 80% of the deaths related to prenatal health are preventable.
She says this situation is why Prince George’s has moved toward initiatives like expanding access to doula care, because having someone advocate for you can be life changing.
“Imagine a woman coming in for care, and she is repeatedly dismissed that the swelling in her leg is normal, the headaches that she has is normal, and then she comes back and we’re in a situation where we’re either having a crash C-section which is an emergency C-section or Mom ends up in the ICU with problems that were completely preventable if she’d only been heard,” Young said. “We experience that at a higher rate than our Caucasian counterparts.”
