Featured photo: LaTricea Adams, provided by LaTricea Adams
Written by Tanya Terry
Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and various other credible sources.
LaTricea Adams, founder CEO and president of Black Millennials for Flint, said she is glad these alarming statistics are at least coming to light. She said although this is nothing new in the Black community, having research to back up the facts allows Black women and other community members to know “it’s not our imagination.”
“Black women, regardless of socioeconomic status are still at the most at risk for simply trying to bring life into the world,” Adams said.
Disparities definitely exist even in Flint and Genesee County as it relates to premature birth, stillbirths and low birth weights.
In Genesee County, about 14% of African American babies did not live to see their first birthday. In 2018, over 1,000 babies were born at premature or low birth rate in Genesee County. Based on the 2019 Flint and Genesee County Community Needs Assessment Report, the infant death rate for Flint was more than double that of the United States!
Adams pointed out that shortly after the switch from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River in 2014, which brought about the Flint Water Crisis, the birth rate in general declined in Flint.
On the documentary “Birthing Justice” Black women who have had horrific experiences share their personal narratives on their pregnancy journeys and their child-birthing experiences. In addition, the documentary speaks to implicit bias and racism that exists in public health institutions.
“Even you have people like Serena Williams, one of the richest women in the world, but still they are not being heard as it relates to potential complications and challenges that may occur throughout the pregnancy,” Adams said. “The documentary also speaks to some of the triumphs that have taken place more recently, uplifting Congresswoman Lauren Underwood out of the state of Illinois, as well as Congresswoman Alma Adams, who actually hails from the state of North Carolina, as being two of many that founded the first Black Maternal Health Caucus.”
Now Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the founding members on the Senate side.
“The documentary speaks to the implications around policy and how Black women have been of the core, particularly at the federal level, to not only addresses issues around the disparities for Black maternal health, but really putting pen to paper around policy.”
Another unique nuance touched on in the documentary are the biases that exist even among Black health care professionals.
The Black Millennials 4 Flint in partnership with Revive Community Health present a “Birthing Justice:” Screening & Post-Discussion from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Thursday, May 11 at the Revive Community Health Center. After the screening, a mindfulness break, post-screening discussion and call to action are taking place.
“This documentary is heavy. I will say honestly, it drove me to tears. It hurts. It makes you mad, and the mindfulness break is really like a mental break, to take some time to kind of decompress from what would have been absorbed right from the documentary. While these are our truths, we want to create a space where we’re not coming from a place of victimhood, but victorious. So, despite all of these disparities, this heinous data that’s associated with Black motherhood, there’s opportunity for action and to fight back and to lean on what we learned from our ancestors and Black women in this movement- to still remain resilient in spite of it all.”
With Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in the most recent budget, over a million dollars was allocated around the expansion of Medicaid. Historically, postpartum coverage was for up to six months, but is now for a year.
“It still needs to be more than that. There are still opportunities to grow. But that’s a good next step.”
Within the budget there are also provisions around more inclusivity around birth workers, such a doulas and coaches.
See the links below to register for the documentary screening, although registration is not required. There is also other helpful information in the links, including information on doulas.
- Documentary Registration link: bit.ly/birthingjusticeflint. REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED!
- Info re: Lead Free Mamas
- Yolo Lactation & Doula Services (Click on the hyperlink to learn more)
- Revive Community Health Center: https://www.revivechc.org/
