Black Women More Likely To Face Deadly Complications During Or After Pregnancy

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — According to the CDC, nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. every year. But mixed in with that joy are stories of tragedy, women who die during or shortly after pregnancy. And African American mothers are most at risk.

Valerie Stuart plays many roles, and one of the most important is grandmother to a six-year-old.

Valerie's only child Vanessa was 22 when she became pregnant.

"The pregnancy was normal until she had to have a C-section," Stuart said.

Just 11 days after giving birth, the unexpected happened.

"So she went to the bathroom and somewhere in that stall she passed out. I think she hit her head on the stall. It knocked her out." Stuart said.

Vanessa never regained consciousness and eventually died.

She's part of a troubling statistic. According to the CDC, compared to white women, black women are four times more likely to die during pregnancy and up to a year after giving birth.

Dr. Barbara Levy, an OBGYN with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says the reasons are complex. Some African American women may have pre-existing conditions like diabetes that could complicate pregnancies, or they may have limited access to pre-natal care.

But Dr. Levy says bias from health care providers may also be to blame. She said some of the behaviors these providers show are just dismissive.

"It's not listening, it's not hearing. It may be not listening to a partner, spouse, family member who is saying, 'She is really sick, pay attention to her.'" Levy said.

"We need to validate women of all colors, when they say something is not right and this is not my normal body, we in the health care profession need to listen." Levy said.

These statistics have forced medical schools and hospitals to evaluate how they are training doctors across the country.

The George Washington University School of Medicine has an office dedicated to inclusion and diversity. Medical students and even doctors go through anti-bias training.

Dr. Grace Henry is the director of the program.

"I think physicians now are asking, how do we identify this, if it's implicit, if it's in my blindspot, help me identify because I want to be a great physician and I realize that great physicians are culturally competent and that's what I want to be." Henry said.

Medical groups also want to teach patients how to advocate for themselves.

A skill Valerie wishes her daughter had. She says Vanessa died after a pulmonary embolism. But the young mother missed the signs. At one point, her leg was swollen, but Vanessa didn't realize what it meant.

As Valerie tries to keep her daughter's memory alive, she has a message for new mothers.

"Don't take it for granted that 'Oh it's just a lump, oh it's just a bump,' talk to your primary care." Stuart said.

Vanessa was an organ donor, and Valerie believes at least two people were beneficiaries. The mother is also urging others to always keep family members informed when it comes to any medical conditions.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is now conducting anti-bias training at hospitals across the country. They are using video training so that doctors can see first-hand how they need to improve when dealing with minority patients.

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