Posts tagged Maternal Mortality
112 | Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project (DSMAP) - Shared by Bianca Pryor
112 | Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project (DSMAP) - Shared by Bianca Pryor

Bianca Pryor felt led to start sharing her personal birth experience and how it interweaves with the birth story and untimely passing of her best friend, Dr. Shalon Irving. They discovered they were expecting around the same time and committed to "doing pregnancy" together. It was an exciting time in their lives after they both had experienced sibling losses. They were able to see and feel the positive energy around them. Bianca reflected on the newness of how much information we now have about the experiences of Black women in birthing spaces. Today, it has been reported so much more, but they were not prepared for what lay ahead for them.

Dr. Shalon would give birth via scheduled surgical birth to Soleil in January 2017 with no complications during the delivery. The best friends bonded in the newness of motherhood and leaned into each other for support. Three weeks postpartum for Dr. Shalon, they texted briefly while Bianca was still in the NICU. Later that day, she received another text stating that her friend was in the hospital because she had stopped breathing. Dr. Shalon had shared that her legs were still swollen, and she had low energy. She had also been receiving wound care at home as she was having challenges with her incision healing properly. She was a fierce advocate for her health but was pushed off by her medical providers. Dr. Shalon Irving passed away shortly after - her friends and family vigilant on her behalf.

The Believe Her App and Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Plan are projects birthed by Bianca and Dr. Shalon's mother, Wanda Irving, as a form of activism and memorializes Dr. Shalon's life and her legacy. Believe Her is an anonymous, maternal, peer-to-peer app created to fight extraordinarily high black maternal mortality rates and save lives. Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project works to remove barriers, biases, and disparate practices that impede access to equitable, quality care for Black women and women of color. Their work is based on the life philosophy of Dr. Shalon:

"I see inequity wherever it exists. I am not afraid to call it by name and work hard to eliminate it. I vow to create a better earth."

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Community Highlights, Hospital Birth, LossLaurel GourrierBlack Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Mortality, Black Families MatterComment
84 | Birthing Without Bias: Irth - Kimberly Seals Allers
84 | Birthing Without Bias: Irth - Kimberly Seals Allers

Being a journalist, while pregnant, Kimberly began asking questions. In feeling like the answers weren't adequate, she started looking into how the context of our lives as BIPOC could be clues into the infant and maternal disparities in our community.

In 2006 she wrote the Mocha Manual. This book allowed BIPOC individuals to see themselves in the modern maternity conversation. While also bringing to the forefront the realities and disparities of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding for BIPOC individuals. Kimberly continued to peel back the layers, writing five books total, The Big Letdown being her most recent, a look into the systems, society, pediatricians, and doctors hindering the infant feeding journeys of families. And through that exploration, affirming to nursing parents that they are doing their best in a structure not created to see them succeed.

In her work, Kimberly has had a front-row seat into the experience of many birthing parents and knows sharing our stories holds weight. Reflecting on her birth, she remembered when a hospital was highly recommended to her as an option for care. Yet she walked away from that hospital traumatized. There hasn't been a space for birthing people to have the opportunity to hold the care system accountable. And so Irth was born. The Irth app is a “Yelp-like” platform where individuals can leave reviews on care providers and hospitals to inform each other of where they are receiving good care and where they aren't.

If you are a birthing parent or even a doula/support person, you can share your experience. As Kimberly expressed, "We may not be able to stop all the harm, but we have to be prepared to help heal."

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Community HighlightsLaurel GourrierBirthing Without Bias, Irth, Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality, Black Maternal Mental Health, Black Tech Matters, Birth Without FearComment
18 | Tatia - Shared by Maddy Oden
18 | Tatia - Shared by Maddy Oden

This is a story about loss - In memory of Tatia Oden French & Baby Zorah

We had the honor of having Tatia's mother Maddy Oden to share Tatia's story with us. Maddy and her family knew that they didn't want others to go through the same experience. From their loss, they developed the Tatia Oden French Memorial Foundation in March 2003 to continue Tatia's memory and provide education to others.

This experience highlights the importance of informed consent, the medicalization of birth specifically with the induction drug Cytotec and infant/maternal mortality. We hope that as you listen, you don't sit in fear from their story, but instead take in the information, share it with others and help extend the mission of the foundation.

We can't control birth, and we can't predict outcomes, but we can gather information to ensure decisions are lead by our informed voices!

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Hospital Birth, Cesarean Birth, LossLaurel GourrierInduction, Cytotec, Informed Consent, Maternal Mortality, Infant MortalityComment