Black mothers in Waterbury advocate for equity in maternal health care

Sephora Mabrouk, 8 months, the daughter of Alexandria Hall Mabrouk, plays on the floor in their Waterbury apartment Thursday. Jim Shannon Republican-American WATERBURY – Alexandria Hall-Mabrouk did not feel right. The 37-year-old mother-to-be at the time juggled two jobs, arriving at her prenatal checkup appointment overwhelmed. “I need help,” Hall said to her doctor. The doctor responded astounded, not sure what to do, Hall recalled. “I was looking for some sort of support during that time and just somewhere I could turn to and they had no answer for me,” she said. “It made me feel hopeless and inadequate. A lot of times you are downplayed and told you are fine and you are just pregnant. ‘That is normal aches and pains.’ ” Hall was not fine. She ended up changing doctors but her health continued to deteriorate, developing pre-eclampsia and having to deliver her baby via cesarean section six weeks early. She ended up in hospital several times after giving birth. She said she believes that had her doctors found support for her early on and listened to her concerns, maybe her child would not have been born premature. Alexandria Hall-Mabrouk holds her 8-month-old daughter Sephora Mabrouk in her...