PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For Black Maternal Health Week, Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus members gathered in Harrisburg along with advocates, practitioners, and organizations dedicated to reducing maternal mortality rates.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show in the United States, black women are almost three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. Though having a birth plan and keeping up with prenatal care is vital, Representative Gina H. Curry says the lack of maternal health resources statewide prevents folks from getting much-needed care.
“Even those places that have an epicenter of health care, often are still places where we are not getting the care that we need, which equals comorbidities, which in turn, turn into mortality rates,” she said.
To address disparities, caucus representatives are pushing the passage of the Momnibus legislative package, a group of bills to decrease maternal mortality in Pennsylvania. Speaker of the Pa. House Rep. Joanna McClinton says he believes being black and pregnant should not mean a death sentence.
“It should be an opportunity to celebrate,” he said. “But we recognize the intersection of racism and systems that do not train practitioners, to understand the sensitivity of all of their patients.”
Eddie Gilmore lost his daughter Shana Gilmore in 2019 when she died during childbirth. A nonprofit called “A Home From Shana” was created in her honor. Gilmore recalled when he received the devastating news.
“I got a phone call in North Carolina that my daughter had passed away just that fast on the operating table,” he said. “She didn’t have any complications that everyone else had prior to getting there. She was healthy.”
Representative Morgan Cephas, co-chair of the caucus, issued a call to action, saying the mission is to cut maternal mortality rates in the commonwealth in half by 2040.
“We are making sure that we are rolling up our sleeves so we don’t have to continue having this conversation,” he said.