Chester County mothers band together to fight Black maternal health crisis

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa (CBS) – Several groups gathered in Chester County Friday to fight racial bias hurting Black birthing mothers and their babies. “I was excited. We had been trying to get pregnant for a long time,” said Talonda Rogers, a Black mother and the founder of The 4th Trimester mothers’ advocacy group. She remembered the joy of being pregnant in March 2000. Her emotions quickly changed, as she described feeling ignored when she told her medical team something was wrong. “I had blurred vision,” Rogers said. “I couldn’t see you standing there. My mouth was so dry.” Rogers later found out she had gestational diabetes that she said went untreated. She still mourns the baby boy she miscarried. “I can just say that it is a physical broken heart,” Rogers said.  Jenné Johns, another Black mother, describes almost having the same fate. Her son was born 14 weeks prematurely. Today, he is 10 years old. “I had not known that water can break as early as it did,” Johns said.  Both mothers spoke to shocking numbers showing Black moms are more likely to have pregnancy complications and Black babies are more likely to die than their white counterparts. “If...