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Mother-Matter
She watched her ghostly pale daughter during childbirth; his lips were purple.
Ayanna Smith gave birth to her third son at 1:05 am on New Year's Day. She hardly knew that one of her happiest moments would become one of the scariest. "Shortly after his release, I remember being extremely dizzy," Smith said. "He was extremely bright and I saw stars everywhere. I just remember them placing it on me. I just told them, "I can not move. I can not move.
Her mother, Sandra Smith, remembered the horror of looking in the delivery room: "You came out of this euphoria by watching this little person go out," she said. . "Then, suddenly, you see just a river of blood."
Sandra Smith watched the doctors remove her grandson from her mother's arms. She watched her daughter turn pale. his lips were purple. It was at that point that she realized that the delivery was disastrous. An emergency blood transfusion saved Ayanna's life. Ayanna is not aloneAyanna Smith is one of 50,000 women who die almost every year as a result of childbirth. It's a mother every 10 minutes in the United States.
The causes of most near-death emergencies are preventable. However, the risk of complications is much greater for black women. "If you are black and very educated, you still have a higher probability of pregnancy-related death than the less educated white woman," said Dr. William Callaghan, Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Department at the Centers for Disease Control. for Disease Control. "It's amazing. The only difference is the color of the skin. "
Ayanna felt that her medical team had assumed that she would be like everyone else and missed the warning signs of her condition. "If they had checked the records, or if I had a regular doctor, it was a way for them to mark that it was like that. [my] problem – beware, take it into account, they would be better prepared for my arrival than having to fix the problem after it has already happened, "she said.
Some health professionals do not think racism is to blame. "We have a huge population of African American patients and I have no doubt that we are giving them exactly the same care as anyone," said Dr. Sujatha Reddy, a women's health specialist.
Some 800 mothers a year do not survive childbirth. Kira Johnson was one of them. She died of bleeding 12 hours after the birth of her second son. "When that happened – when my wife died of a preventable cause related to childbirth, I thought Kira was an anomaly," said Charles Johnson, Kira's husband.
The couple had their first child, baby Charles, about a year before their spontaneous marriage to Mexico. (Photo: Courtesy of the family)
In the two years since Kira's death, Charles has learned the tragic truth. "In a country that is the richest and richest in the world, this is ridiculous," he said. Losing a dream Ayanna survived delivery but lost other in the delivery room. She has always dreamed of one day having a little girl. She and her husband decided not to do it, they will not do it because of what happened next. It crushed me because I know my daughter wants a girl and she will not live it because of that … it's not fair, "said Ayanna's mother, Sandra," I do not want to try, Ayanna said. "I think it has affected my husband a lot, because I do not think he wants me to give birth again … If we wanted a girl, I do not know if we are living this experience again." Fight for change April 12th is the birthday of Kira and the youngest son of Charles Johnson. It will also be remembered on the day of Kira's death. Charles knows one day that he will have to tell his sons how their mother died. "I expect that after the conversation, my sons will ask me:" Daddy, what did you do? Do it? ", He said." It's important for I can look them in the eyes and say, "Son, you know we lost but they did not win. This is the work we have done. It's the legacy that your mother represents. That's why other people do not have to worry about what we went through. And that's what's important to me. To plead for change, Charles spent the past year pressuring Congress to pass two bills: HR1318 and the MOMS law.
HR 1318 instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish programs to review pregnancy-related deaths in each state called Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRC).
These groups seek answers about the causes of a mother's death. They are also investigating what could have prevented it from dying. This information creates action plans that seek solutions to prevent this from happening. According to HR 1318, states should develop mandatory reporting procedures for health services. "We can examine each death and ensure that every woman dies. account and there is a lesson on how to improve quality, "said Dr. William Callaghan. "We will be able to understand where things are going wrong in his care." The MOMS Act is a bill that would help states and hospitals fund programs to reduce the number of pregnancy-related deaths.
Justice Glenda Hatchett of reality TV, Kira's mother-in-law, said she was proud of the work done by her son. "I know that Charles's advocacy work will save lives," she said. "It will make a difference – there will be other families who will not know the pain we have known, who will not have to explain to a child that his mother never comes home, will have to explain if you say, "I want to go to heaven because I want to see my mom. "It's … no family should go through that." For the moment, the two bipartisan bills seem to be stuck on Capitol Hill. Charles Johnson said he would not stop fighting. "My philosophy is to wake up, make mom proud, repeat. That's all. And that's how I do it day after day. Day after day, "he said. Here is a link to help you find your congress members if you want to contact them about bills. ►Chapter Back: Why is childbirth a death sentence for many black mothers? die in layers. What can you do? Mothers Matter: Watch the Complete Series © 2018 WXIA
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