Behind the grim statistics of Black women who have died from pregnancy-related issues are the faces of women like “Selena.”
Sharee Wilburn, a community health program manager at Amelia Ann Adams Whole Life Center, shared Selena’s story during the recent second annual San Joaquin County Black Maternal Health Symposium.
Wilburn told the symposium audience Selena was one of her clients who died just two months ago from birthing complications in Stockton. The death hit home for Wilburn, who said unlike her, Selena didn’t have the benefit of a support system, husband or house.
“But what we share in common is that she was, and I am, Black in America. That’s why we’re here today,” Wilburn said.
That’s not to say Wilburn does not understand loss, being an “Angel Mom” of a stillborn child she lost to a late-stage case of sudden infant death. That experience ultimately drove her to work with community members like Selena.
Roughly 80 people were on hand to hear the stories of Wilburn and others at the symposium, held April 11 at Health Plan of San Joaquin’s office in French Camp. The event’s theme was “Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice Now.”
The event kicked off the state-recognized Black Maternal Health Week, with the aim of providing tools through advocacy to Black mothers and health care providers to lower the disproportionately high mortality rates among Black women.
For example, UC Davis researcher Dr. Brittnay Chambers and Black Women for Wellness’ Northern California Community Liaison, Kim Robinson each spoke about their work in developing California Department of Public Health’s “Centering Black Mothers In Calfornia” Report.
Recent data from the report shows Black women in California are dying from pregnancy-related issues at an elevated rate of 47.3 per 100,000 live births when compared to White (11.1), Hispanic (12.6) and Asian (15.1) women.
Researchers found the leading causes for Black maternal mortality rate are cardiovascular diseases, hypertensive disorders like high blood pressure, blood clots in the lungs and sepsis.
Black maternal and infant health were also found to be negatively influenced by racist societal factors like the history of medical mistreatment of Black women, police brutality and not being listened to by doctors.
“Generationally, this trauma has been passed on to us and we wonder why our heart is broken,” said Dr. Anitra Williams, vice president and chief nursing officer at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and Dignity Health. “And it’s our heart, when we get pregnant, that puts us at risk.”
“Are you willing to listen to me?”
Williams and her colleague Dr. Marshall H. Blue, director of pediatrics at St. Joseph’s told the audience certain laws mandate doctors to engage with culturally sensitivity training aimed at lowering Black maternal mortality.
But those training sessions are not always well-received or taken to heart.
In order to combat that disposition, Williams and Blue said pregnant Black women need to interview their practitioners by asking questions like:
1). Are you willing to listen to me?
2). I know Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause during pregnancy or after I deliver. Are you comfortable with understanding that statistic?
3). How can we meet any needs and concerns that may arise during the course of my pregnancy?
4). Would you consider me a high risk pregnancy based on the information that you reviewed about me? Are there numbers in there that you’re concerned about, that make me high risk?
Blue and Williams suggested providers should ask Black women equally important questions like:
1). What is most important to you during this pregnancy?
2). What do you need to feel safe?
3). How are you feeling about our experiences and interactions thus far?
4). Do you have any fears and concerns based on a prior birth experience, or from an experience that’s been shared by someone you know?
Building the narrative
At the end of the symposium Toni McNeil founder of Concrete Development, a group dedicated to “organizing efforts to connect, correct, and create pathways to services” around the Stockton area, hosted a Maternal Health Strategic Planning session.
“We need qualitative data. That’s the storytelling in order to support the narrative that this truly is an issue,” she said.
She and her team attended the event to start the conversation. The process of building out a full plan can take anywhere from six to nine months, she said.
You can watch the entire event for more advocacy tips and resources on Reinvent South Stockton Coalition’s Facebook page.
Vivienne Aguilar is the health equity reporter for the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, in collaboration with the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF).
The City of Stockton Calif. Police Department logo. seal badge (Photo courtesy of the Stockton Police Department)
Stockton Unified School District employees rally at the Stockton Arena on July 31, 2023, during a kickoff event for the new school year. The district’s director of child welfare and attendance says that he was placed on administrative leave after speaking out about being pressured to approve what he views as unethical expulsions of students. (Victoria Franco/Bay City News)