A conference in Charlotte Thursday to kick off National Black Maternal Health Week sought to raise awareness of some of the difficulties Black women encounter during pregnancy and discuss ways to improve their outcomes.
Hundreds of people gathered inside Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road. Tchernavia Montgomery is the CEO of Care Ring, one of the organizations behind the event. She said the circumstances that affect Black women’s pregnancy go beyond medical care.
“We have to address things like food insecurity and homelessness, mental health issues that are prevalent amongst women who are Black and pregnant, and begin to again close those gaps and to look for ways to solve those problems,” Montgomery said. “We want women to be healthy; we want babies to be born healthy and happy.”
Black women are three times more likely to die from complications due to pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, despite more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths being preventable.
Yhenneko Taylor spoke at the event. She’s the assistant vice president for Analytics and Outcomes Research at Atrium Health.
“We have to involve Black women, Black families in that discussion, Black birthing people because we can’t decide on the solution in insolation. We really need to include the people who have the lived experience in that solution,” Taylor said.
On April 20, Care Ring will host a solidarity walk at Marshall Park starting at 11 a.m. Parents with strollers and community members are invited to participate in the walk to raise awareness of improving Black maternal health.
