The number of Black mothers in Ohio who die during or following pregnancy continues to climb and health advocates said they hope to shine a light on the issue during Black History Month.
A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found Black women in Ohio are more than five times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared with women in other states and overall, maternal mortality is on the rise in the U.S.
Adarsh Krishen, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said having a health advocate can help patients better navigate the system.
“That advocate can be a family member, a friend, a spouse, someone who can be there to listen for you and help ask questions on your behalf,” Krishen explained.
He also encouraged women to establish a relationship with a trusted health care provider, ideally before or as soon as possible during pregnancy. According to a report by the Ohio Department of Health, 57% of the state’s 186 pregnancy-related deaths between 2012 and 2016 were preventable.
According to the health care advocacy group KFF, pregnant Black women report significantly higher rates of mistreatment by health professionals, including shouting, scolding and ignoring or refusing requests for help.
Krishen urged patients to not ignore gut feeling and be firm in asking for care.
“Trust your body, trust your feelings and make sure that you’re getting your concerns and questions addressed,” Krishen emphasized.
After large-scale protests last month, a grand jury decided it would not prosecute a 34-year-old Black woman for her handling of a miscarriage at her home. Brittany Watts would have faced criminal charges of abusing a corpse. Krishen added the case could prevent more pregnant women in Ohio from seeking medical attention during an emergency.
Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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New Mexico’s Legislature is becoming more diverse but its lawmakers are still the only ones unpaid in the nation, limiting who can afford to serve, and some lawmakers want voters to change it.
For several years a group of legislators — all women and all Democrats — have advocated for modernizing the system to provide lawmakers with a base salary.
Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, said many women and people of color don’t have jobs allowing them to serve, which is why until recently, both chambers were primarily dominated by wealthy white men.
“It doesn’t look like that anymore, but there’s so many people that would be excellent legislators, but they can’t quit their jobs – there’s not the kind of support that they need.”
Garratt said the bill to pay lawmakers a salary saw some traction in 2023 but this year’s short, 30-day session stalled efforts.
If it is successful next year, the bill would send a constitutional amendment to voters to decide. Legislators’ pay amounts would then be determined by a citizens’ commission, which Republican lawmakers have said could be dangerous unless there is a salary cap.
Some argued without a salary, it is difficult to govern effectively with committee meetings, planning sessions, calls and emails coming in all year. When Garratt was elected, she was still teaching school but said her union contract allowed professional leave for legislative duties.
While lawmakers receive a per diem rate of about $200 per day to cover some expenses, Garratt believes a salary might make running for office a feasible option for parents and other full-time workers.
“We’re not California with $112,000 salaries; we’re not New York with $146,000, we’re New Mexico,” Garratt stressed. “We’re not looking for this elaborate salary but we’re looking for more of a living wage-type salary.”
Garratt would like to see a separate referendum passed to make all legislative sessions 60 days. New Mexico’s are among the shortest legislative sessions in the U.S.
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National Entrepreneurship Week runs through Saturday. In North Dakota, outreach continues to ensure women business owners face fewer obstacles in getting their operations off the ground. The Small Business Administration says nearly 43% of businesses around the state are women-owned. And development networks that offer technical support say they’re seeing more women clients.
Christy Dauer, executive director of the North Dakota Women’s Business Center, said that doesn’t mean stereotypes and other traditional barriers haven’t gone away, such as accessing loans, and even their own data gathering has revealed some eye-opening information.
“Over 50% of the respondents of our survey leveraged personal savings, and the second highest was credit cards,” she said.
She added other challenges include societal expectations and work-life balance. The Center notes that women have a strong presence in operating Main Street businesses, and helping them thrive could do a lot to bolster local economies.
But Dauer said women seeking entrepreneurship in North Dakota are shattering stereotypes by not limiting themselves to certain sectors. Instead, they’re forging ahead by leading a variety of businesses.
“Trucking distribution companies that ship our agricultural goods, architects [who] leave a legacy on our prairie, archaeologists,” she continued.
Dauer will travel to Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks to share these stories. Her organization is partly supported by the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, which hasn’t seen a boost in funding. Advocates are calling for what they describe as long-overdue updates so they can expand their outreach networks.
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Research shows the number of Black women experiencing postpartum depression could be as high as 44%. Ohio clinics are working on ways to better improve screening and mental-health support for these moms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Debbie Gingrich, chief program officer at Best Point Education and Behavioral Health in Cincinnati, explained that risk factors associated with depression often begin before the baby is born and include a personal or family history of depression, an unplanned pregnancy, having diabetes or other health complications, along with less obvious signs of mental distress.
“And then, kind of this sense of impending doom, or feeling like something bad is going to happen,” she said. “Those are some common symptoms of anxiety.”
In a CDC survey, around 30% of Black women reported being mistreated during maternity care, and 40% said they experienced discrimination. A bill being considered by Ohio House lawmakers would designate the week of April 11-17 as Black Maternal Health Week.
Gingrich said women are commonly screened for postpartum depression about six months after their baby is born, but added that a one-size-fits-all model isn’t the best approach for supporting new moms.
“That may not be soon enough, and it may not be late enough,” she said. “So I think we need to be thinking about ongoing, who’s connected with mom, to help screen.”
Black women also face numerous barriers in accessing health care and are more likely to develop diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases than white women, as well as being burdened with medical debt.
This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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