black mamas matter
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During a Global Health Pandemic, It's More Important Than Ever to Protect Black Mothers
Despite its status as a “developed” nation, about 700 women will die each year from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth in the U.S.—more than any of its peers. Of that number, a disproportionately high number are black women—from 2007 to 2016, black mothers died at a rate of 3.2 times that of white mothers,…
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Save Our Moms: Lena Waithe Joins MTV and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to Fight Black Maternal Mortality
Of the many ways in which the United States has long been considered a global leader, there is one which is deeply shameful. “In the past three decades in the U.S., the number of women who die from pregnancy-related complications has more than doubled,” says Lena Waithe, in a new PSA. “Over half of these…
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In the Face of the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis, This Doula Is Providing Expectant Mothers With the Support and Care They Desperately Deserve
The story has to be told in such a way where we’re not making people lose hope. text The specific “story” Chanel Porchia-Albert is referring to is that of the black maternal mortality crisis. She knows all about the daunting statistics surrounding black motherhood as a mother of six and the CEO of Ancient Song…
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Now That We Know There’s a Maternal Mortality Crisis, How Can We Help Fix It?
If you are outraged by the maternal health crisis—and you should be—where black women are dying disproportionately from preventable childbirth-related causes and mistreatment, here’s what you can do: Get Involved. I caught up with Elizabeth Dawes Gay, co-director of the Black Mama’s Matter Alliance (BMMA) this week, and she was clear: “There is something that…
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Stacey Abrams' Response to the SOTU Gave a Much-Needed Nod to Black Maternal Health
“Maternal mortality rates show that mothers, especially Black mothers, risk death to give birth.” — Stacey Abrams It was only one of many powerful points made by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in the Democrats’ response to Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday night. But for The Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Abrams’ reference…
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The Black Maternal Mortality Rate in the US Is an International Crisis
Last week I spoke at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to urge the United States to use a human rights framework to improve maternal mortality in the U.S. That’s right: Black women are dying around the world, and black women in the U.S. need to be placed in the…