‘Nobody listened to me:’ On Black Maternal Health Week, Tampa Bay mom and advocate shares her story
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As Black Maternal Health Week nears its end, a Tampa Bay mother is sharing her story as she calls for action.
The CDC said the latest numbers from 2021, show 1,205 women died of maternal causes in the U.S. with the highest deaths among Black women.
The initiative is led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance and the group is all about preventing pregnancy-related deaths.
“I’m a mom, I’m a Black mom who’s had two traumatic birthing experiences of my own,” said Dr. Marshara Fross.
Dr. Fross had her first child when she was 21.
“I still ended up waking up when my baby was in NICU,” she said. “I didn’t know where he was.”
Fross said her son went into distress after a doctor chose to break her water and her second pregnancy was even more traumatic.
“I actually ended up giving birth in the ambulance,” she said.
Fross said she was at the hospital, having contractions when she was sent home. Within an hour, she called 911.
“In the ambulance, I had one contraction, and she was out, and no one was there to even on the other side to catch her,” said Fross.
Dr. Fross founded the Black Maternal Health Week at USF College of Public Health.
“Even though I’m a researcher and I can advocate for myself, nobody listened to me,” she said. “This is an issue that affects everyone.”
The CDC reported that each year in the U.S., hundreds of people die during pregnancy or in the year after. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.
“When you have mothers who are passing away from preventable deaths, nearly 70% of these deaths are deemed preventable, and those are mothers who are lost who are leaving behind children who are leaving behind families to be raised by other people, by the foster care system, by other entities, it becomes a community problem,” she said.
The CDC also said this disparity is caused by multiple factors, including variation in quality health care, underlying chronic conditions, and structural racism.
“Were intentional about engaging these community agencies bridging the gap between the research the policy and the advocacy and the community engagement piece to try to advance this movement,” said Fross.
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