(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Local health care providers have committed to raising awareness about maternal health disparities during the start of Black Maternal Health Week on Thursday.
The weeklong campaign aims to raise awareness that Black women in America are dying from childbirth at a disproportionately higher rate than white women.
“Not only are Black women more likely to die, we know that these mortalities, a lot of them are preventable,” Maternal Fetal Medicine Doctor at Northwestern Medicine Janelle Bolden said. “So the big question is, why? What is the disparity there and what can we do to address it or fix it?”
Bolden said tNorthwestern is hosting several events throughout the week, including an open house at Prentice Women's Hospital, in an effort to address that health disparity.
“We're going to include tours of the labor and postpartum floors,” Bolden said. “We'll have different physicians and midwives discuss common pregnancy myths. We'll do a meet and greet with as many of the Northwestern and affiliated OB and GYN clinicians.”
The goal is to educate patients about Black maternal health, she said, and to help them foster relationships with healthcare providers.
The week was originally designated by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, a network of Black women-led reproductive justice organizations.
Throughout the week, Northwestern’s OB-GYN department will also host a donation drive.
