CHARLOTTE, N.C. —A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found maternal deaths have more than doubled in the last two decades across the country.
The study found Black mothers are dying at the highest rates, with 55 deaths per 100,000 live births.
What You Need To Know
- Maternal mortality rates have more than doubled in the United States over the past 20 years, according to the American Medical Association
- For Black mothers the rate is 55 deaths per 100,000 live births.
- Fametta Darling went through a traumatic birth experience 12 years ago. She then became a doula to advocate for other women
- She works to make sure doctors listen to their patients when it comes time to give birth
After traumatic birthing experiences, two Charlotte women said they always share their experiences with friends. They tell their stories to warn other women of the risks of pregnancy and the importance of advocating for yourself through the process.
For the last few years, Fametta Darling has worked as a doula, helping soon-to-be mothers navigate through the exciting time in their lives.
But while pregnancy is incredible, Darling also knows how dangerous it can be from her own experience.
“I just never considered that I needed to think about my provider possibly being racist,” Darling said.
At 41 weeks pregnant with her first child, Darling said she realized her provider was ignoring her concerns. She believes that put her and her child at risk.
“I just never felt heard. Even things that I wrote on my birth plan were scratched out and dismissed,” Darling said. “She even violated my body during the birthing process. Things that I, you know, was clear about that I didn't want to happen. I just never considered that that would happen to me.”
After the experience, Darling decided to become a doula to make sure other mothers had an advocate on their side.
“What we're seeing is Black women at all income levels, at all education levels who are experiencing poor birth outcomes,” Darling said. “A lot of times it's simple things. You know, they complain about pain in their body. You know, they're experiencing bleeding that doesn't seem regular. And then those things kind of pushed to the side or aren't addressed in a proper amount of time.”
Alana Robinson was one of those women.
“For me, having a doula was important because this is my second pregnancy,” Robinson said. “My first pregnancy didn't go so great as far as like the labor part of it.”
After going into labor during her first pregnancy, Robinson said she and her boyfriend rushed to the hospital. She hoped to deliver naturally with a holistic approach. But after getting into the delivery room, Robinson said doctors insisted on giving her an epidural and pitocin, in hopes of speeding up the process. Instead, Robinson says the progress stopped.
“I just kind of got stuck and so did my baby,” Robinson said. “And she was breached. And they tried to do some repositioning, but she wasn't budging. And so they were like, her heart rate started to drop and they were like, oh, we got to get you into the operating room to do an emergency C-section. And so that's what we did.”
Robinson said she was disappointed her wishes for a more holistic birth plan weren’t taken into consideration from the beginning.
“When I got pregnant with baby No. 2, 12 years later, I started doing all the research and there was more information about, you know, the mortality rate and among Black people,” Robinson said.
That's why, this time around, she had Darling on her team as her doula, to advocate for her every step of the way.
“So if at any point you feel like you're in pain, or if a doctor makes a suggestion that you don't feel is a good option for you, you can say no to it,” Darling said. “That is an option if you ask for more pain requests, or if you ask for pain medication. And the doctor, you know, denies you that if there's any request that you make and the doctor denies you of that, you can ask them to jot it down in your notes so they can put that in your record, and it can be documented that your requests were denied.”
The support helped Robinson to deliver her second baby safely and naturally.
“I can't even put it into words honestly,” Robinson said. “It was everything was amazing just to be able to see what my body can do and what my body was capable of doing.”
