UPMC doctors celebrate Black Maternal Health week to raise awareness

It’s Black Maternal Health Week and doctors at UPMC are highlighting disparities in maternal health hoping for a change.The week is a moment for Black women to feel seen. It’s a way to celebrate awareness and focus on solutions to help Black women have a smooth birthing experience. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women have the highest mortality rate in the United States when it comes to birth.About 50,000 women in the U.S. suffer from pregnancy complications each year, but Black women are 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.Studies show that expecting mothers or mothers of color suffer from major injuries or complications due to being dismissed or ignored.”As a Black woman, it is very difficult to speak up sometimes because we don’t want to be seen in a different light; we don’t want to be seen as being angry, as being oppositional, and so forth. So, it’s very different. It’s not just the responsibility of the patient but the responsibility of the health care provider. We have to do better.” said Dr. Chavone Dantrell Momon-Nelson, an OB-GYN at UPMC.If you see urgent maternal warning signs during pregnancy, you...