a 2019 Senate hearing on Maternal Mortality Crisis.
She stated in her testimony, “We need to provide women of color with more support during their pregnancies… There’s a level of racial bias within our health care system that is troubling and will be difficult to tackle, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t.”
Although this issue continues to be a systematic problem, tragedies like Bowie’s death have sparked this conversation once again.
In a tweet from BET, it states “Black women die at exceedingly higher rates due to pregnancy-related complications. We face a much higher risk of maternal death due to various reasons including chronic stress and implicit bias from health care providers. There is so much work to be done to properly protect and advocate for Black women’s health.”
While this conversation continues, the best advice healthcare professionals can provide to potential and expecting mothers is to keep track of any unexpected changes and learn more about dangerous maternal warning signs. However, the healthcare industry is still responsible for changes.