Recent data spotlights concerning trends for Black women and their babies. Health care professionals convened in uptown Charlotte over the weekend to advocate for and celebrate efforts to address the issue.
A 9-month-old baby with an afro was the center of attention as she was greeted by midwives, doulas, and a mental health counselor as part of the Black Doula Day. About two dozen people showed up for the event at the VAPA Center in uptown.
Alexandra Gore from Charleston, South Carolina, was one of them. She's the baby’s mother, and says she turned to a doula after a negative birth experience with care providers.
“I was treated roughly,” Gore said. "I didn’t feel like they cared enough to give me the treatment that I needed when I was saying this was hurting.”
A Mecklenburg County report released this year found Black infants are more than 3.5 times more likely to die before age one than non-Hispanic white infants. Black women are also three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
I’man Boykin, with the National Black Doulas Association, helped organize the event.
“It's important to have some support and love around you, where you don't feel like you're doing it alone,” Boykin said.
Alexxis Cook-Graham is a mental health counselor who attended the event. She said she's grateful for those trying to reduce the death rate and hopes their efforts continue to be celebrated.
“They are appreciated, they are needed, they are valued,” Cook-Graham said. "Without their every day, every minute work, some of the lives we have living amongst us today wouldn't be present.”
Attendees left with free one-year memberships with the National Black Doulas Association.
