Louisville organizations shedding light on disparities during Black Maternal Health Week

It’s Black Maternal Health Week, a week that raises awareness about the risks Black and other minority women face navigating pregnancy and focusing on postpartum care, too. “It is really important that care is considered after the baby is birthed,” said Louisville Coalition for Black Maternal Health president Cynethia Bethel-Hines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 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, and this Black Maternal Health Week, Louisville Coalition for Black Maternal Health, Norton Healthcare and March of Dimes are shedding light on these disparities through their second annual Black Maternal and Infant Health Symposium. “So part of our big goal is reducing that just disjointed and really caring for people and providing them an easy way through the healthcare system. Building the bridges,” said Mary Schubert, Norton Health System’s vice president of women’s services.One way to build those bridges is also focusing on postpartum care. Doulas are trying to bridge gaps in care.“They’re there for their birth, and then they follow them postpartum,” said Schubert. Kazia Bryant was a doula for 12 years. She’s now focusing...