Black Maternal Health: A Legacy and a Future

By: WeNews Staff | August 8, 2008

The logo for this series is meant to represent a key idea: Maternal health is all about embracing the mother.

But in the United States, African American women confront striking statistics as they form partnerships, become parents and care for their children.

African American women are three-to-six times more likely to die during pregnancy and the six weeks after delivery than U.S. white and Latina women. That holds true across various levels of income and education. In fact, some studies find middle-income and highly educated African American women at higher risk.

In Detroit Hospital, Black Babies Are Latching On

By: Molly M. Ginty | April 20, 2015

Detroit’s Mother Nurture Project connects black mothers with peer breastfeeding counselors who offer support. Here’s how this community-oriented approach is helping.

Simple Language Helps Catch a Killer: Preeclampsia

By: Dr. Whitney You and /Por Alison Bowen | January 5, 2015

It’s a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide and my research indicates women often can’t identify or describe the condition even if they have it. We’ve developed a low-literacy, low-cost information tool to help.

National Initiative Tackles Rising U.S. Maternal Deaths

By: Robin Hindery | January 4, 2015

It starts with a focus on such preventable killers as obstetric hemorrhage, preeclampsia and blood clot embolisms. “The goal is that every hospital in the country should implement maternity safety bundles; a standard set of best practices,” says a doctor leading the effort.

U.S. Hospitals Hinder Black Women’s Breastfeeding

By: Juhie Bhatia (Managing Editor) | August 29, 2014

The recent study finds that maternity centers may be part of the reason behind the country’s racial breastfeeding gap. A film released this week, in honor of Black Breastfeeding Week, is aimed at changing the trend.

New Twitter Storm Is About Public Breastfeeding

By: Crystal Lewis | June 11, 2014

When a mother posted a photo of herself nursing at her college graduation on a breastfeeding Facebook page, a flurry of disapproval quickly ignited all over social media. Questions are being raised about how public breastfeeding should be.