black mothers
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Washington, DC’s Only Public Hospital Just Decided to Close Its Maternity Ward
In a closed-session vote Wednesday, the board of Washington, D.C.’s only public hospital decided to close its nursery and delivery rooms. As the Washington Post reports, now the women of Southeast D.C. (which is predominantly black and low-income) have even fewer maternal-health options. Not only is the decision potentially devastating to pregnant women in Southeast,…
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The Complicated Business of Giving Birth: Motherhood and Mortality
Here’s a not-so-fun and very frightening fact: Did you know that the U.S. has the highest rate of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth in the developed world, indiscriminately affecting women across races, backgrounds, educations and income levels? Did you know that over half of those deaths are preventable? And, if that news isn’t disturbing…
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Do You Know Someone Who Died or Nearly Died in Childbirth? Help Us Investigate Maternal Health
By many measures, the United States has become the most dangerous industrialized nation in which to give birth. For black women, the risks are particularly high. Black mothers are three to four times more likely than white mothers to die from pregnancy and childbirth. They’re twice as likely to nearly die from complications such as…
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Watching These Kids Interview Their Moms Will Be the Highlight of Your Mother’s Day
There’s no denying how special Mother’s Day is. It’s a holiday set aside for us to show our mothers just how much they mean to us. These are the women who carried us, nurtured us, taught us and continue to love us unconditionally. Showing these women gratitude is the least we can do. We asked…
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Words of Comfort for the Motherless on Mother’s Day
While many of us celebrate Mother’s Day by honoring our mom with gifts, breakfast in bed, movie dates and all-around pampering, there are many people in the world who no longer have their mothers. This tragedy makes acknowledging this holiday difficult. Ty Alexander of Gorgeous in Grey has released her debut book, Things I Wish…
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This Mother’s Day, Raise Your Voice for Black Maternal Health
The image of a group of white men in suits celebrating the passage of a health care bill that would snatch away affordable access to health care from millions of people—including those living in poverty, people of color, people with disabilities or mental-health issues, and women planning to give birth—is one that will forever be…
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1 Mother Had Enough of Being Afraid for Her Sons, so She Did Something About It
Last August, as I picked up a strawberry birthday cake and Batman-themed decorations for my son’s seventh birthday party, I began to cry. It was a familiar scenario. I cry on all of my two sons’ birthdays. They are 7 and 4. Mine are not tears of joy but, rather, tears of fear. Fear for…