First-time mom, her doctor talk about Black Maternal Health and the disparities

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — This week is Black Maternal Health Week. It highlights the disparity pregnant women of color face when it comes to trying to have healthy, safe pregnancies, and deliveries. Black women are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related issues. Doctors believe four out of five of those deaths are preventable. Eyewitness News Anchor Shirleen Allicot visited Mount Sinai West to sit down with a first-time mother, her doctor, and the head of Labor and Delivery at the hospital who is working to make pregnancy safer. “You said when you saw those statistics you were really surprised?” Allicot asked. “I was really surprised. Having a child wasn’t really on my radar and then when it became on my radar, I realized there are things I have to learn myself to learn what my concerns and my needs are. And then also, what are the greater issues within healthcare and how do those issues apply to me?” said Paulette Thompson, a first-time mom. “Tell me about this pregnancy and your journey to finding this fabulous doctor,” Allicot said. “Well, it started about six to nine months before I even knew that I wanted...