When Dr. Faith Ohuoba, a board-certified OB-GYN in Houston, Texas, noticed swelling in her legs after delivering her baby via C-section, she trusted her instincts. Her blood pressure had spiked to a deadly 200/120—yet her doctor ignored her concerns. So she did what she had to do: prescribed herself blood pressure medication, demonstrating the urgency of Black maternal health advocates' work.

“I could have died,” she told ESSENCE. “I’m a physician, and even I was dismissed. So I kept thinking—what happens to the woman who doesn’t know what to look for?”

Dr. Ohuoba’s story is not the exception. It’s the rule. In the U.S., Black women are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. In some cities, like New York, that number soars to 12 times. The CDC estimates that 80% of all maternal deaths are preventable, further showing why the work of Black maternal health advocates is vital.

“We are in a deplorable state,” said Dr. Venice Haynes, a public health researcher. “In 2023, maternal mortality rates declined for white, Hispanic, and Asian women. But for Black women? They went up. That’s not a coincidence. That’s racism—structural and systemic.”

Black Maternal Health Advocates Address a History of Harm, A Present in Peril

This crisis didn’t appear overnight. As Jeanine Valrie Logan, a certified nurse midwife and founder of the Chicago South Side Birth Center, explains, “Modern gynecology was built on the experimentation of Black bodies during slavery. That legacy is still baked into the system.”

And the numbers support that truth. According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, Black women are twice as likely to experience life-threatening pregnancy complications; 22% of Black women report being discriminated against by a provider during pregnancy care; One in three Black mothers reports poor communication or mistreatment in a hospital setting.

“It’s insidious,” Logan said. “Like breathing. I was trained to believe that my genetics made me more at risk. But it’s not our bodies—it’s the systems failing them.”

Where the System Breaks Down

One of the most dangerous cracks? Postpartum care. “Almost 40% of women skip their postpartum visits,” said Dr. Haynes. “And that’s when a lot of deaths happen. We have to talk about transportation barriers, lack of childcare and no paid leave. Those things kill women just as much as hemorrhage.”

Read the full article about Black maternal health advocates' work by Jasmine Browley at Essence.