“Mothers don’t die from childbirth, right? Not in 2019. Not professional athletes. Not at one of the best hospitals in the country,” Felix said. “I thought maternal health was solely about fitness, resources, and care. If that was true, why was this happening to me? I was doing everything right.
“I learned that my story was not uncommon. There were others like me, just like me,” she continued. “Black like me, healthy like me, doing their best, just like me. And they faced death just like me too.
“We need to provide women of color with more support during their pregnancies,” Felix said. “There’s a level of racial bias within our health care system that is troubling and will be difficult to tackle, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t.”
She detailed her experience in an essay published by Glamour earlier this year, recounting her emergency C-section on November 28, 2018—at only 32 weeks pregnant—because of preeclampsia. The athlete and first-time mother explained that had she not gone for a check-up and delivered her baby that day, she and her daughter, Camryn, could have died.
“To be faced with losing your own life creates a certain level of fear. But thinking about losing the life of my unborn child just felt unbearable,” she wrote. “I was terrified because I didn’t feel prepared for this. I hadn’t been looking for the signs of preeclampsia. I didn’t feel educated.”
Kamala Harris
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Senator Harris (D-Calif.) hasn’t just spoken up about Black maternal health; she has helped introduce legislation to try to bring more equal treatment to Black women. (And re-introduced the Maternal CARE Act.)
“This historic package of bills that would tackle systemic health disparities by making much-needed investments in social determinants that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation and nutrition,” she wrote about the Black Maternal Momnibus for Essence in April. “It calls for more diversity in the perinatal workforce, so every mom is provided with inclusive care. The Momnibus will make investments to ensure all women—including women veterans and incarcerated women—have access to resources and support, including doula services. This bill also provides funding for digital tools to improve maternal health outcomes, no matter where you live.
