Latest news with #BlackMaternalHealthWeek
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Black Maternal Health: What We Don't Know Is Killing Us
How many Black women die during or after childbirth in Canada? It's a question with no answer, because hardly anyone is collecting the data. In one of the few Canadian studies available, Black women had a preterm birth rate of 8.9%—substantially higher than the 5.9% rate for white women. Preterm birth is a key warning sign, often linked to higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. Yet, Canada does not routinely collect or publish race-based statistics on maternal deaths, leaving the true scale of the problem shrouded in silence. The actual number of deaths is likely grossly underestimated. Frontline experts and Black healthcare providers point to patterns in the U.S. and U.K., where Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than their white peers. The disparities are real, the data is scarce, and the consequences are devastating. So, why are Black women in Canada still forced to navigate a healthcare system that too often fails to see, hear, or protect them, and what will it take to finally turn the tide? That question echoed all week during Toronto's first-ever Black Maternal Health Week (TBMHW), where healthcare leaders gathered to confront uncomfortable truths about racial disparities in maternal care. Jenelle Ambrose Dash, a lawyer and maternal health advocate, started the Black Maternal Health Collective Canada (BMHCC) after a devastating personal loss. Jenelle Ambrose-Dash, founder of the Black Maternal Health Collective Canada (BMHCC) In 2023, she developed pre-eclampsia—a life-threatening pregnancy complication—and lost her daughter at seven months. Despite repeated concerns, her symptoms went unrecognized until it was too late, a tragedy she attributes to gaps in culturally competent care. In 2024, she launched the BMHCC, and six months later, the City of Toronto officially declared The Toronto Black Maternal Health Week for April 11–17, 2025. This first-of-its-kind, week-long event which ByBlacks attended, featured expert-led seminars, interactive workshops, and community discussions, all focused on addressing the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of Black mothers during pregnancy and postpartum. The Fireside Chat at Toronto Black Maternal Health Week L-R: Jennifer Bernard, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Jean Augustine, CBE, Dr. Marjorie Dixon, MPP Michael Tibollo. "We have a huge problem with the quality of care for Black women and families," says Dr. Marjorie Dixon, founder, CEO, and Medical Director of Anova Fertility, during a revealing fireside chat with Jennifer Bernard, President and CEO of SickKids Foundation. 'Regardless of income or education, being both a woman and Black puts you at a disadvantage.' Cheyenne Scarlett with her husband and 5 children Cheyenne Scarlett is a mother of 5. She's a professor at Seneca Polytechnic, a certified childbirth educator and doula. For her, this work is personal. 'One of the worst experiences I had was with an ectopic pregnancy. At first, I thought it was a miscarriage, which I'd had before.' When Scarlett went to a local clinic for an ultrasound, no doctor was on site to speak with her. Instead, a doctor talked to her by phone. 'I didn't know this doctor at all, but he said that I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, which was very dangerous. He said I should go to the ER immediately. His exact words were 'I've seen people bleed out and die from this.' Cheyenne went to her local hospital, armed with the ultrasound and the urgent advice from the doctor. But she was surprised to find there was no urgency at all. 'The ER doctor looked at the medical report and said, 'You look fine, you don't seem to be in any pain. I'm not buying what they're selling.' Scarlett was sent home to 'wait it out' and to return in the morning. When she returned the next day for more tests, she was now bleeding internally, and it was too late to be treated with medication. She needed surgery. And she needed it now. During surgery, doctors removed one of Scarlett's fallopian tubes, saying they couldn't save it because the embryo was too deeply embedded. 'My life was not valued,' says Scarlett. 'I can't help but think about how urgent that first doctor sounded on the phone, without seeing me, without knowing my race. Maybe he assumed I was white. And then compare that to going in person and them being so nonchalant.' The barriers are everywhere—systemic, interpersonal, and internalized. Black women routinely encounter healthcare environments where no one looks like them, where cultural understanding is absent, and where dangerous myths, like Black people having higher pain tolerance, still influence care decisions. The result? Delayed diagnoses, inadequate pain management, and a lack of trust that keeps Black women from seeking care until it's too late. Ann Marie Collymore Ann Marie Collymore, an entertainment and culture critic from Toronto, says she had an easy pregnancy. 'Everything was great. I had no issues, and I was healthy throughout. The only risk factor was my age at 42 and that my mom had preeclampsia back when she gave birth to my brother, also at 42,' says Collymore. Collymore says the days after her C-section were fuzzy. She remembers her sister having to wake her up to see the baby, and then things just got worse from there. 'I got up to use the bathroom, and I was dizzy. My head hit the floor, and I was in and out of consciousness for about 5 days.' When Collymore's mom noticed her daughter was not speaking coherently, could barely stay awake, and that her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, she knew something was wrong. 'The doctor on call would not even respond to my mom. She actually had to run after him in the hallway and convince him to run tests,' says Collymore. It turns out Collymore's vitals were slipping. Her kidneys were malfunctioning, and her blood pressure was extremely high in a state of hypertensive crisis. It took 3 days of tests and treatment before Collymore regained full consciousness and was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a life-threatening pregnancy complication which is a form of post-eclampsia. Catching this early is critical because serious illness like stroke, organ damage and even death happens in about 25% of the cases. 'If it weren't for my mom, I wouldn't be here today. It seems like, whenever Black women speak up, the response is often 'oh they're okay, they can handle it'. No, we are distressed, why do we have to prove that we're actually in pain?' says Collymore. One of the most significant barriers to addressing Black maternal health disparities in Canada is the shocking lack of comprehensive data. 'What gets researched gets changed,' says Bernard, the first Black woman to lead the SickKids Foundation, known for her inclusive vision and commitment to diversity. 'You cannot base policy on anecdotal evidence or hearsay, no matter how compelling and truthful you know they are,' she says. Yet, for decades, Black maternal health has been invisible in the numbers that drive funding and reform. According to Bernard, research on Black maternal health in Canada is largely fragmented and relatively new. 'A lot of it is about three or four years old and not always consistent across the country,' she says, noting that most comprehensive research initiatives only began during the COVID-19 pandemic—which itself was 'a public health emergency for Black people.' Each province has different data collection regulations, so advocates are asking for a national strategy. Scarlett points out that much of this advocacy focuses on Black maternal mortality rates, but she feels that needs to change too. 'What about maternal casualties? We need research in this area. Because the bar shouldn't be to just 'survive' childbirth. We should be whole. Being alive and being whole are not the same,' says Scarlett. Bernard, who shared how both her stepdaughters were presumed to be single mothers during pregnancy checkups and steered toward food programs, says cultural sensitivity training, while increasingly common, often falls short. 'You can do it in medical school and tick that box, but unless it's an ongoing requirement, people are going to fall back on their old biases. The whole system has to require it. It has to be ongoing education.' Those old biases can lead to devastating consequences, many of which Janice Appiah highlighted as a guest speaker at the Toronto Black Maternal Health Week. Janice Appiah presenting at Toronto Black Maternal Health Week Appiah (who also goes by Promise) was 19 years old when she delivered her first child at a hospital in Brampton, Ontario. She went for a routine check-up 3 weeks before the due date and was told the baby was in a feet-first position. The doctor told Appiah she would need a C-section that same day. 'I was in shock because I knew I still had 3 more weeks to go in the pregnancy and that may have been enough time for the baby to turn. But I didn't really know my rights, so I went along with it,' says Appiah. Appiah says she wanted a natural childbirth and felt she was robbed of that and coerced into a C-section. Things got worse once she went home with her baby. 'Two midwives came to visit me at home, and they weighed the baby and said she had lost some weight and that I needed to give her formula. I declined. My daughter had no problem latching, and breastfeeding was going well. They told me that if I didn't have formula in the house by tomorrow, then they would report me to Child Protective Services. So I bought the formula, but I didn't give it to my daughter, I continued to breastfeed. When they returned the next day, my daughter had put on quite a few ounces. And the midwife said, 'see it's good that you gave her the formula.' I just nodded and didn't say anything else,' says Appiah. 'I was just scared that they would take my child away. They spoke to me like they did not believe I could take care of my baby.' Both Bernard and Dixon are clear: piecemeal efforts and one-off training won't cut it. But this will: Mandatory, ongoing cultural competency and trauma-informed care training for all healthcare providers. Greater representation of Black professionals at every level of the system. Community-driven research and data collection, with Black women leading the way. Coordinated, collective action among Black health organizations to amplify impact and avoid duplication. Visible signals of welcome and inclusion in healthcare spaces—from art to staff diversity to language access. Designated days like mammogram weekends for Black women with culturally sensitive care. Many of the negative maternal care experiences are shared across racial lines. 'If you solve for the Black community, you solve for everyone,' says Bernard. 'Because everyone, in a way, other than the Indigenous community, is less complex. So, it adds value when you solve for the Black community, because every single community benefits.' There are other groups, such as the Black Health Equity Working Group, made up of Black health sector leaders and health equity experts. The group formed during the pandemic and is working to develop a governance framework for health data collected from Black communities in Ontario. Dixon emphasizes the need for a collective approach: 'We have to coordinate really well, so we're not re-doing our efforts over and over or duplicating efforts. I think that's where the Black Maternal Health Collective comes in. We need to sit down at the table and say who's the best to do each part.' For individuals navigating the healthcare system today, Bernard offers practical advice: 'First of all, you are entitled to ask for more than a 15-minute appointment. You can bring a doula. You can bring someone with you that can can ask for your health records if you're not happy with your doctor and move to someone who actually wants to take care of you. You are not their hostage.' As the first TBMHW marks its place in history, Ambrose Dash's closing words resonate as both a challenge and invitation: 'In these strange times that we're living in, I'm reminded of one of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous quotes: 'In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.' And I want to thank all of you for choosing not to be silent.'
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alabama doctor discusses Maternal Mortality Rate statistics
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A report from the CDC shows fewer women are dying from pregnancy-related causes. However, there are still some sharp differences in mortality rates among women of different races. News 19 reached out to Dr. Margaret Carter at Huntsville Hospital Maternal Fetal Medicine to discuss these findings. Madison County Commission reviews feasibility study for new courthouse Dr. Carter primarily treats women whose pregnancies may have an increased risk of complications. She also serves on the State of Alabama Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The report from the CDC uses data from 2023 (the most recent available), which states the 'maternal mortality rate for 2023 decreased to 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with a rate of 22.3 in 2022.' 'There's definitely an obvious discrepancy between the amount of maternal mortality for African-American women versus women that are not African American, so of any other race,' Dr. Carter said. That same report said that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. Earlier in April, the CDC joined in Black Maternal Health Week to bring attention and action to improving Black maternal health. The CDC said multiple factors contribute to this, such as variation in healthcare quality and underlying chronic conditions. 'We definitely need to look into that more and address the issues,' Dr. Carter said. The CDC said most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Dr. Carter urges women who are pregnant to advocate for their own health. 'I think the big thing that I would recommend for pregnant women is to always advocate for themselves,' she said. 'Not to the point where they're not listening to their health care providers or taking recommendations, [but] just being more open to asking questions, understanding why things are being done the way that they're done.' In addition to taking charge of your health, Dr. Carter recommends getting any existing medical conditions under control before getting pregnant. 'For example, if you have diabetes, you want to have your diabetes well-controlled before you become pregnant,' Dr. Carter said. The CDC said it is important for pregnant women to know some of the urgent maternal warning signs. Some of those are dizziness or fainting, extreme swelling of your hands or face and changes in your vision. Click here to view the full list. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Black maternal health advocates, researchers press on amid federal funding cuts
Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, founder and director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University, speaks at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Black maternal health advocates and researchers worry about federal funding cuts. (Courtesy of Birthlooms) Before everything went black, Tamika Jackson felt like she was drowning. While in labor giving birth to her baby boy, her body felt heavy and her breaths shallow. 'I can't breathe,' she croaked to the anesthesiologist. 'If you couldn't breathe, you wouldn't be able to speak,' she recalled the doctor telling her, dismissing her as having a 'panic attack.' Minutes later, the 37-year-old's lungs gave out. Her heart stopped beating. Clinicians were able to resuscitate Jackson. Her baby boy was born via C-section, and the Michigan mom lived to tell her story of giving birth to Cree, who's turning 3 next month. Jackson is now a maternal health organizer at Mothering Justice, a Michigan-based nonprofit. She spoke with Stateline while on a bus to the Michigan Capitol, where she participated in a Black Maternal Health Week panel and pushed for a legislative package — nicknamed the Michigan Momnibus — which aims to increase obstetric patient protections and improve care for moms of color. The Michigan Senate passed the package Thursday, and it now heads to the House. Black moms like Jackson are three times more likely to die than white mothers and suffer higher rates of pregnancy-related complications. But in its bid to eliminate federal diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives, the Trump administration has terminated community health grants and closed federal offices that support state efforts to tackle racial health disparities. Experts say the moves will hinder efforts to improve Black maternal health. 'DEI is not about politics. It's about survival,' Jackson said. 'This is about community-based solutions — and they're undoing that.' Jackson added that without federal dollars, 'We're going to be left trying to do a whole lot with a whole lot of nothing.' The Trump administration has cut grants for maternal health studies and research on health disparities in various populations, including patients of color and LGBTQ people. It has laid off most staff at the federal Division of Reproductive Health, and removed maternal health data from federal agency websites. It also is considering cutting next year's budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from about $121 billion to about $80.4 billion, according to The New York Times. The administration plans to create a new Administration for a Healthy America, which would focus on maternal and child health, among other issues. HHS and its National Institutes of Health did not return requests for comment in time for publication. DEI is not about politics. It's about survival. – Tamika Jackson, Michigan mom and maternal health organizer at Mothering Justice Researchers and advocates like Jackson say that amid the Trump administration's erasures, their work will continue. Among those losing grants are nonprofits, health care systems and universities, including the Morehouse School of Medicine, a historically Black medical school in Atlanta, which received a $2.96 million grant for a center to improve the health of Black pregnant and postpartum women. Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. 'We are reviewing the situation to assess how it may affect our research,' a Morehouse spokesperson wrote in an email. 'More broadly, it is important that we all recognize the critical role medical research plays in developing potential life-saving innovation that will mitigate disease and improve the health and well-being of many people.' The Morehouse center was selected among an initial 10 research centers funded under the NIH's Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone, or 'IMPROVE,' Initiative. Columbia University and community groups throughout New York also received the grants. One goal was to connect postpartum moms with doulas to detect conditions such as postpartum preeclampsia, according to principal investigator Dr. Uma Reddy, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia. Reddy said the grant was developed with communities who voiced their needs. 'We can actually prevent these deaths and these serious complications,' Reddy said. 'This is a way to focus on a high-risk population and provide them with the resources that they don't have available.' Maternal death reviews get political as state officials intrude Tufts University maternal health scholar Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha said she's had several meetings in Washington, D.C., get canceled, and while she's thankful to have almost completed one federal grant project, there's uncertainty about other grants she's applied for, including a Black postpartum support research initiative. The professor runs the Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab and Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at the Tufts University School of Medicine. 'It not only stalls progress, but it actually actively endangers the most vulnerable among us,' she said. 'These policy decisions can cause and will cause lasting harm to people who are already underserved by our health care system.' Amutah-Onukagha said she is urging researchers and advocates to have 'cautious optimism.' 'Most people are in the space of gloom and doom. I do get that, and I'm vastly in and out of that,' she said. 'But because of the work that I do in maternal health, we have to remain optimistic. That lens cannot die. If it does, then the communities that we serve are going to be even more disadvantaged.' Amutah-Onukagha, who recently testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health, said her team will continue to work with organizations around the state, such as Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts and Resilient Sisterhood Project. 'We're stronger in numbers,' she said. Diana Greene Foster, research director in reproductive health at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted the seminal Turnaway Study documenting the harms women suffer from abortion denials. She was in the middle of another study, funded by a federal grant, tracking post-Roe abortions and the efficacy of health exceptions in abortion ban laws. Her team was interviewing emergency room doctors about whether they could provide abortions amid major pregnancy complications such as eclampsia, a serious consequence of preeclampsia, which is a dangerous form of high blood pressure that disproportionately affects Black mothers. The administration pulled her grant. Foster, who is fundraising to continue her study, said she feels the administration's actions send a message of 'turning their back on science, on compassion, on caring about women.' To close racial gap in maternal health, some states take aim at implicit bias Tina Sherman, a doula and national director of maternal justice at MomsRising, a nonpartisan women and mothers advocacy group, said she worries about data the administration has removed, including the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. The surveillance system is a comprehensive tool states use to track maternal health and formulate policies to improve it. 'An attempt to erase the data,' said Sherman, 'doesn't erase the harm that has been done and creates additional harm.' Without data, states can't target where resources are needed and which communities are disproportionately harmed and how, said Sherman, who co-chairs the North Carolina Maternal Mortality Review Committee. 'We're going to be going backwards,' she said. The Trump administration also canceled several grants focused on intimate partner violence, a leading cause of pregnancy-associated death which disproportionately affects people of color. One such grant was supporting a University of North Carolina project studying intimate partner violence against pregnant women shortly before they give birth. 'The issues remain. The urgency is pressing as it ever was. The reality is this: Black mothers and birthing people continue to carry the weight of a crisis that we did not create,' Amutah-Onukagha said. 'We did not create it, but we are leading the fight to solve it and dismantle it, and we know that the systemic barriers existed before this administration. They will continue to show up — but we will also continue to produce cutting-edge research here at the center.' Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Black Maternal Health Crisis Is Getting Worse. One Expert Details the Resources Available to Help Solve It.
This series was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center's StoryReach U.S. Fellowship. In the U.S., Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. April is recognized as National Minority Health Month, a national initiative to advance health equity for racial and ethnic minorities. Within the month, Black Maternal Health Week, observed April 11-17, was created by Black Mamas Matter Alliance nearly eight years ago to raise awareness about racial disparities in maternal health. As public health agencies face potential Medicaid cuts and slashes to equity-focused initiatives, organizations like Black Mamas Matter Alliance and Black Women's Health Imperative are navigating growing challenges around funding, resources and an urgent need for more advocacy. In Indiana, Black women have the highest rates of maternal mortality in the state. As maternal health resources continue to erode, these disparities risk deepening. In response, Capital B Gary has hosted 'Black Mamas Matter' events to share resources, encourage dialogue, and identify local solutions. Capital B Gary health reporter and Pulitzer Center fellow Jenae Barnes spoke with Isabel Morgan, senior advisor for maternal health at the Black Women's Health Imperative, the oldest national nonprofit dedicated solely to the wellness of Black women and girls. A trained epidemiologist and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contractor, Morgan emphasized the need for better data, stronger community infrastructure, and legislative advocacy. She also highlighted the crucial role of doulas and community-based care in improving outcomes. Morgan called this year's Black Maternal Health Week theme, 'Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy,' a 'guiding light' for supporting further training, ensuring resources are shared, and amplifying the needs of the Black community. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. So, this issue is incredibly important because it significantly impacts everything related to our lives. It has implications for our children's and our families' health and well-being. We know from data from the CDC that Black women are three to 3.5 times more likely to experience pregnancy-related deaths as compared to white women. [Among industrialized nations] the U.S. also has the highest maternal mortality rate, which tracks deaths up to 42 days postpartum. That is why Black Maternal Health Week is important to not only raise awareness about the Black maternal health crisis, but also the racial and geographic inequities we're experiencing within the U.S. We're elevating not only the crisis, but also what people are doing to address the crisis and what is needed. So, what policies are needed? What legislative advocacy is needed to get us to the place where we no longer lose anyone? We don't want to lose Black mamas surrounding pregnancy, particularly because we know that most of these deaths are preventable. I think being in a community is incredibly important and being able to corral resources. For example, if there's funding being cut from maternal and child health programs — which we know is happening — we should think about appealing to other programs that may not be experiencing the same immediate cuts. That's something that we have to do when we leverage reproductive justice as our guiding framework. It pushes us to think more broadly and creatively about who our partners can be, how to appeal to them, and how to advocate. I think people have to be very strategic about how they are collaborating and finding uncommon partners. And realistically, that means appealing to private foundations. I think most immediately, it's emotional chaos. It's an intentional deconstructing of our public health infrastructure. That is real, and it causes chaos, it causes fear, it causes tension. They want us to feel the chaos so that we are not able to mobilize. Also, taking a step back to breathe and to remember that we have to be as level-headed as possible to mobilize. So, the significant impact that we're experiencing most immediately is the lack of access to data. When you fire essentially … most of the staff in the Division of Reproductive Health at [the] CDC … we no longer are able to generate data at the national level as to how people are experiencing pregnancy and postpartum. Black Mamas Matter Alliance has collaborators like myself as an individual. They also have a list on their website who those partners are, who those collaborators are. It even has a map so you can see where these organizations are located. You can see if an organization is located within your state or within your city to get connected to them. These are local, community-based organizations providing direct services. So I would say BMMA and their partners are certainly a resource. The 'Irth App' spelled as birth without the 'b' for bias — that's how Kimberly Seals Allers talks about this. She developed the IRTH app to be able to allow pregnant people and their families to identify what experiences other Black mamas have had at specific health care centers. She calls it like the Yelp of hospitals. There's also the Birth Bill of Rights, a document that pregnant people can use when they are in the hospital or at a birth center. You can use this document as these are your rights when you're in that space, and so if you feel like you're being mistreated, if you feel like you're being discriminated against, it outlines what people basically should expect when they are within a birthing facility. There are warning signs that CDC has developed in collaboration with community-based organizations. So, people know if they're experiencing certain symptoms, they need to contact their health care provider. We call those maternal health warning signs. We know that cardiovascular conditions and hypertensive disorders are the leading causes of death for pregnancy and pregnancy-related deaths for Black women and Black people. There's also a movement to shift to make sure that partners also are equipped with this knowledge. 4Kira4Moms recently launched 4Kira4Dads. The organization is meant to make sure that partners are able to have access to specific resources to support them through their journeys. So the warning signs will be shared and available for partners of people, and it is framed for dads. The post The Black Maternal Health Crisis Is Getting Worse. One Expert Details the Resources Available to Help Solve It. appeared first on Capital B Gary.
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
March of Dimes campaign aims to decrease pregnancy-related deaths in Black women
The March of Dimes has launched a new campaign to try to decrease pregnancy-related deaths to mark Black Maternal Health Week. Zeinab Dieng is settling in at home with her newborn son and her daughters. She spent a month in the hospital because she had preeclampsia, the potentially deadly condition that causes a pregnant woman's blood pressure to rise. Her baby had to be delivered early at 33 weeks. Dieng also had preeclampsia while she was pregnant with her triplets, so doctors recommended low-dose aspirin daily during this latest pregnancy to reduce her risk. It's featured in the March of Dimes' low-dose, big benefits campaign. "Low-dose aspirin is associated with a decrease in both preeclampsia and preterm birth," Dr. Amanda Williams, interim chief medical officer with the March of Dimes, said. "Both of which are far more common with Black pregnant patients than they are with the general population." Research reviewed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force shows that pregnant people at increased risk for preeclampsia who take low-dose aspirin may reduce their risk of preeclampsia by 15% and their risk of preterm birth by 20%. "Lots of people don't know that this simple over-the-counter intervention can be incredibly impactful and save lives," Williams said. "So part of our work is to educate doctors, nurses, doulas, and also the community." This mom is grateful she was prescribed low-dose aspirin for both her health and her baby's. "It was helping me," Dieng said. "The headaches was too much, and the vomiting, I wasn't feeling good at all." Now she's been instructed to take the medication for three months after delivery to reduce her risk of postpartum. Doctors say patients with a history of preeclampsia are at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke later in life.
