As athletes gear up for the start of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, gold medalist track and field athlete Allyson Felix recently announced the creation of the first nursery for athlete mothers.
Created in partnership with Pampers, the nursery will support parent athletes by providing a place for young babies to play and for their mothers to have a safe environment to breastfeed.
The latest initiative stems from her own experiences with preeclampsia which she was diagnosed with in 2018. After dealing with the condition and a legal battle with Nike when the sports company attempted to penalize women athletes for having a family, Felix has continued to advocate for maternal health, particularly amongst Black women.
As of now, Black women nationwide continue to face increased issues in their pregnancies that are sometimes fatal. Along with preeclampsia, Black women have historically been diagnosed with hypertension, blood clots and hemorrhages while pregnant and in postpartum.
As a result, they are most often forced to undergo a c-section when giving birth. When they do receive a c-section, Black women are twice as likely to receive general anesthesia rather than neuraxial labor analgesia, which is considered to be the most effective for birth.
Black women are also at a higher risk of having fatal pregnancies. Overall, according to the CDC, as of 2022, an estimated 49.5 deaths per every 100,000 live births remains the maternal mortality rate for Black women.
Although it marked a decrease from the previous year’s 69.9 deaths per every 100,000 live births, the maternal mortality rate remains significantly high for Black women when compared to the 19 deaths per every 100,000 births amongst white women.
“Even a low-risk Black woman entering pregnancy is significantly more likely to die than a similarly low-risk white woman,” said Yale obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Monique Rainford. “Furthermore, high-income non-Hispanic Black mothers have worse maternal and infant health outcomes than low-income non-Hispanic white mothers, which suggests a system failure rather than a woman not taking care of her health.”
Discrimination and disparities in health care have been identified by professionals as key contributors to the higher rate. Per the National Partnership for Women & Families, almost one in four Black women say that they have been victims of mistreatment by their provider.
They were also twice as likely as white mothers to say that when they had an issue, their provider failed to respond in time or at all.
As a result, Black women are most likely to seek out Black OB-GYNs as a result of fear of dying during pregnancy. To find Black OB-GYNs for treatment throughout their pregnancy, Dr. Leslie Farrington, former obstetrician and co-founder of the Black Coalition for Safe Motherhood, recommends that Black mothers also use apps such as IRTH and Health in Her HUE to seek out these professionals.
Along with groups such as the Black Coalition for Safe Motherhood, Better Starts for All, in collaboration with Felix herself, have created programs to help Black pregnant women with their journeys.
Throughout the span of three years, the initiative aims to help over 7,000 pregnant people through prenatal education, a care model and a mobile health vehicle that provides maternal healthcare.
Felix will continue advocating for better maternal health services and education through her latest partnership with Pampers and the latest grant she received from Melinda Gates. Earlier this month, Gates donated $20 million to Felix to fund advocacy for Black mothers.
With the grant, the funds will be used to address the maternal mortality rate, the reproductive rights loss in 14 states and the inability for national paid family leave.
“I’m looking forward to deploying this money to organizations that are doing urgent work in the space and that will really get it to members of the community who are most at risk for complications, even death during pregnancy,” said Felix per CBS Morning. “ I’m so humbled to receive it and I’m excited to put the money to good work.”
