VP Kamala Harris Fights Biases Against Pregnant Black Women! | America In Black | We Vote BET

[Music] welcome back to another edition of America and black I'm CBS News correspondent da bakis we want to begin our show by exploring a Health crisis impacting far too many black women and families in the United States black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women numbers among the highest in the developed world tonight you will hear painful stories of lives lost and you will hear from those trying to to address the crisis including the vice president of the United States KLA Harris can you point to the flower Charlotte where's the flower point to the flower good job I love being a father Charlotte is a joy I didn't plan on being a single parent though I wanted to be a parent with my wife shenise Anthony Wallace and his wife Chenise were estatic when they found out she was pregnant with their first child a girl a girl it didn't matter to me whether it was a girl or a boy I was just so happy that we were having a child together Anthony says he and Chenise a chief resident in Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine had started making plans for their baby girl we were expecting that we had a smooth pregnancy we're going to have a smooth delivery we're going going to raise our child together but that plan began to unravel when around her 36th week during a routine pratal checkup doctors discovered Chenise had preeclampsia persistent high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy or the postpartum period She had to have an emergency C-section they performed the Cesarean and Charlotte is born but things begin to go downhill for Chenise Anthony was told Chenise was experiencing internal bleeding and she is somewhat verbal what were those conversations letting her know I'm here and she's telling me she's okay she gets taken to the ICU so it's the last time I heard her voice um two days after giving birth Chenise died she was 30 years old Anthony's unimaginable grief is mixed with anger he believes his wife's death could have been prevented she was voicing that she was having pain in her body and the doctor looked at her and said you're just having a panic attack they weren't listening to her do you think race was a factor in chena's death it was definitely a factor tragically Shen's story is rapidly becoming more common in the United States especially among black women according to the C CDC the maternal mortality rate in 2021 was 89% higher than the rate in 2018 Nationwide black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy than white women these numbers and lives lost have drawn the attention of the White House in our exclusive interview vice president kamla Harris said addressing the issue of maternal mortality is one of her priorities the United States being one of the richest countries in the world has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality it's a health care crisis in America happening right before our eyes and I felt the need to take it on in a substantial way these stories should compel all of us to take on this crisis since becoming vice president kamla Harris hosted the first ever maternal day of action at the White House and recently tour the babyto baby distribution headquarters in Los Angeles dedicated to to providing supplies and resources to mothers in need when you look at the statistics they are staggering why are black women in particular dying at that rate well one reality of it that may be hard for some people to hear is um cuz she's black when she walks into that clinic that doctor's office that hospital she has not taken us seriously another reality of this issue is that it has nothing to do with her soci economic level or her educational level it literally has to do with the color of her skin and the biases that are present in the system one of the things you've really pushed for is implicit bias training for medical workers why is that so important data tells us that recent medical association surveys that when they have questioned medical students that a significant number of them still carry biases around whether black people have a different pain threshold I mean it's shocking to think that that is possible as hard as we try we have not fully undone the 400 years of systemic racism that have been taking place in the United States Dr Amanda Williams is one of the pre-eminent leaders in maternal mortality and Health Equity and an Adjunct professor at Stanford University School of Medicine I'm unfortunately the United States is the most dangerous developed country in the world to have a baby there's no one that's even close and for black women and birthing people those statistics are even worse this is not a problem that goes away with access to Top Doctors top hospitals and good insurance policies Serena Williams even Serena Williams had to advocate for herself when she experienced life-threatening complications s after the birth of her daughter Olympia half of the deaths are in the postpartum period so we are not out of the woods once the baby is out to address this issue and others vice president Harris proposed legislation that among other things extends postpartum Medicaid from 60 days to one full year creates a designation for certain proven hospitals as birthing friendly and also allocates billions of dollars to diversify the maternal health Healthcare Workforce one element the vice president and many healthcare workers believe can help save women's lives during and after childbirth is the increased use of Duelists who provide physical emotional and informational support here she is Felicia Francis Edwards is a doula who has spent her career dedicated to maternal and child health she works with Frontline duus a community program that provides free access to care for black mothers in Los Angeles had so many women say that they're off top first meeting I'm afraid I'm going to die you've seen firsthand the bias that women experience absolutely I've seen the doctors say really inappropriate things I've watched people dismiss um black women our work is important because a lot of times we go to spaces where we're the only other brown black face there I got support you I'm going to educate you I'm going to teach you advocacy so that you can can put yourself in a position to make an informed Choice the ultimate goal is that we end these disparities and that there are no barriers to a woman being able to have a joyful pregnancy and delivery of a healthy child that's the the ultimate goal bubbles W we're excited it's the joy of child birth Anthony Wallace wants every woman to experience and why so many are working to ensure children like 2-year-old Charlotte don't have to grow up without their mothers mommy daddy and S yeah in 2022 Anthony filed a complaint against the hospital where Chenise gave birth and died and he says he plans to file a formal lawsuit we reached out to the hospital hospital for comment they did not respond to our questions what is your Hope by sharing your story I want to help bring an end to black mothers losing their lives and child birth I want to bring more awareness to the black maternity crisis is gone on far too long who's the sweetest girl in the whole world