Be Well: Why Black Maternal Death Rates Remain High

<div class="block">Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow, joined Cheddar News to talk about the launch of her new business, which is aimed at educating new crops of doulas. Doulas provide guidance and support to pregnant women during birth.</div>

beWell

Thanks Sima, a recent statistic from the CDC estimates that the maternal mortality rate for black women is nearly three times higher than the rate for white women. And it is an issue our next guest has been addressing and really trying to change. Joining us right now is Latham Thomas, a Wellness leader, birth Doula and founder of Mama Glow. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. It's good to see you, you as well. So I know you've been very busy, talk to me a little bit about what you've just been doing well. So at Mama Glow, um it's a global maternal health and education platform. We serve um families, but primarily we train to educate the next crop of doulas who we believe will help address the maternal health crisis in this country. Um We're just in DC at the Maternal Health Summit that Representative Underwood had um with Cory Booker and um Alma Adams. It's really great to see policy makers and legislators and you know, really our elected doing the work to ensure that we improve maternal health outcomes from black women because we know, as you said, we're dying at an alarming rate. Why do you think there is such a disparity between the rate that black women are dying and then the other counterparts? Yeah. Well, I mean, we know statistically speaking that, um, black women are not feeling heard, they're, um, reporting that they experience a systemic racism in hospital settings. Um, people talk about, um, their pain being dismissed or being, um, seem, seeming that they're impervious to pain, um, not having their um being diagnosed or being sometimes under diagnosed. And, you know, really also the sense of, you know, going into a space and not having your safety and dignity be, you know, centered and experienced. And so many people feel afraid of their care providers or go into the situation, go into the hospital setting thinking that something's going to happen because they also see what's happening in the news, they see what's happening around them. And so there's already this sort of, of collective trauma right around the black maternal death in this country. But we also have been on a 25 year increase in black maternal deaths. And so people feel, I think the weight of that and if you're coming into a situation where you're pregnant and you feel like your only option is to work with a particular care provider and you don't feel seen or heard or that you even belong there, right? If you don't feel like your humanity is being honored, then yeah, it makes people feel really, I think, um, nervous, but also like, they don't have the capacity, you know, to birth. And, um, so we really have to get people to a place where they feel safety, where they feel dignity, where they feel respected and also that they have, um, they have choice, right? And some of the options include out of hospital, birth and home, birth, um, birth centers and also really making sure that you really, really, really get along with your care provider. That's important. Absolutely. So someone who's pregnant right now, what words of wisdom would you give to them? Well, I with first number one say, of course, that they should hire do and do are accessible in many ways. So um there are programs uh across the country where you can access a community based, who are, who work inside the community who look just like you who come from the same neighborhood, maybe speak the same language, maybe have the same cultural practices. And those are people who are paid for through the state. So through state and city based programs. Um New York has one called the City initiative and really quick, what is the for those that aren't clear? Of course. So is a non clinical care provider that provides emotional support, physical support, education, advocacy tools and partner support if you don't have a partner present. But the key thing is that they help you prepare for the demands of labor and birth. They are like your cheerleader. So everyone needs one. Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this because I feel like we learned so much and you know, hopefully everyone can have a safer healthier experience. Thank you so much. Appreciate you.