Doula
Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women – and this disparity increases with age, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Racial and ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related deaths have persisted over time.
Pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births (the pregnancy-related mortality ratio or PRMR) for black and AI/AN women older than 30 was four to five times as high as it was for white women. Even in states with the lowest PRMRs and among women with higher levels of education, significant differences persist. These findings suggest that the disparity observed in pregnancy-related death for black and AI/AN women is a complex national problem.
“These disparities are devastating for families and communities and we must work to eliminate them,” said Emily Petersen, M.D., medical officer at CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health and lead author of the report. “There is an urgent need to identify and evaluate the complex factors contributing to these disparities and to design interventions that will reduce preventable pregnancy-related deaths.”
This information can be found : https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html
A doula acts as an advocate for the mother, encouraging and helping her fulfill specific desires she might have for her birth. The goal of a doula is to help the mother experience a positive and safe birth, whether an unmedicated birth or a cesarean.
My teacher
(Left)Shafia Monroe, President of Shafia Monroe Consulting (SMC) and creator of SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training. (Right) Kratina Champaigne on day four of my training when I received my Provisional Certificate
Shafia Monroe is a renowned midwife, a doula trainer, motivational speaker and a cultural competency trainer, the creator of the SMC Full Circle Doula Birth Companion Training. Her work is significant to improving the infant and maternal mortality crisis because she incorporates African birth traditions and southern outreach traditions, aids families in communicating with their health care providers for quality health care, and lectures on multiple systems to reduce maternal mortality.