One mother opens up about her own maternal health journey.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Advocates say they’re continuing efforts to support and save mothers amid what they’re calling a national maternal health crisis.
That’s what North Carolina Congresswoman Alma Adams calls the state of maternal health in the U.S., which has the highest maternal death rate of any high-income country.
Congress secured $200 million in maternal health funding in the last three years and hopes to keep the support flowing. It comes as mothers like Lakiesha Stanley open up about their pregnancy journeys.
“I don’t want to have another child because I am a high-risk pregnancy,” said Stanley, who said the journey was nearly impossible.
“I’ve had two miscarriages,” she said.
Though her son Elroy, who’s two years old, is full of energy now, Stanley knows the fear so many mothers face.
“I remember asking the doctor, ‘What do you feel about the Black maternal death rate and everything that’s going on,’ and that doctor was kind of shocked that I asked, and I was lik,e my life is now on the line,” Stanley stated.
Congresswoman Adams says in several cases, too many mothers are dying, and many deaths are preventable.
“So many of these deaths happen after birth,” she said. “Black women are dying three, four times the rate of white women; that should not be.”
“I joined with Rep. Lauren Underwood, and we started the Black Maternal Health Caucus because she had a situation with a friend who passed away after giving birth to a healthy child,” Adams noted.
Congressional leaders are reintroducing the “Momnibus Bill”, consisting of nine bills sponsored by Black Maternal Health Caucus members. It will provide funding to community-based organizations that are working to improve maternal health outcomes for women.
“There are so many women that are trying to have babies, get pregnant. It wouldn’t be possible without healthcare workers that are willing to take care of Black women like they should be,” Stanley said.
Contact Siobhan Riley at sriley@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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