Download Subtitles for Reclaiming Our Voice: Black Women’s Health

I never wanted anything so bad in my life. I wanted to prove the world. I wanted to prove my community that I can be successful. I can get a degree from the number one H.B.CU. I can get married and fall in love. When I had my miscarriage, I was numb. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to call. It was hard when it came down to getting pregnant again. It was it was a fear that lived with me. So when things start to arise like issues, I'm like, "Hey, can I convince what I need to do cuz I'm not trying to lose this baby. Please help me." And I was constantly dismissed. 16 weeks I created my perfect birth plan. I was planning my maternity photo shoot. It was supposed to be at the beach and we were going to reveal his godparents there. And then one night I just wasn't able to breathe. And so I was like, I don't want to go to the hospital I was supposed to give birth in because they had already turned me away. So I was already that was the second time they turned me away. I had gone there about week 14 of my pregnancy with the same pains that was in my ribs and they had already given me morphine for the night and discharged me. My blood pressure was 186 over 89. That day I saw that plan crumble like really fast. The second he said the baby needs to come out now. There's no way. There's I can't do that. He's not big enough. He wasn't even 2 lb yet. My baby wasn't home with me for the first 2 months of his life. you're fine, you're young, you're active. Like, these are the things that was said to me. A lot of these moms, unfortunately, their pain isn't being acknowledged. It's being dismissed. Some of these moms aren't making it home. >> Black women uh maybe some black women um are not heard as they ought to be heard because the listener is not sensitive to that voice. >> There was 30 other nurses in the room at this point. They're preparing me for birth. So, everyone's in there. The doctors are in there. Everyone's talking around me, talking to each other. I believe it's called like the charge nurse. She came in, she actually held my hand, got down to my level, like, I got you. I won't let anything happen to you. That was the first time in that entire hospital stay that I actually felt supported by the medical staff. We have some evidence that suggests the result of the biases are diminishing the health of African-American women and likely their their infants. Um, but we do need to do some more research to really, you know, tease out exactly in what situations does this happen and what may be some things that we can mediate or remediate that problem. after delivering my baby. I w up being um diagnosed with delayed preeacclampsia. I think it was like 4 days that I was hospitalized from this and all this could have been prevented if my OB/GYN would have listened to me. Is this what motherhood look like? Cuz they don't tell me none of this. They don't tell any of this. They give you all the bells and the whistles. Oh, oh, it's so beautiful to have a baby, which it is. It's beautiful bringing life into this world, but it's not beautiful when this world don't support you the way that you need when you're bringing life into this world. So, when I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, the it shift my mindset shift because now and I love my boys, but now I have a mini me. I have a black woman. I just thought about her becoming a mother. I wanted to create a space and a platform that can actually keep record of these stories. So, not only our generation can listen and engage with this, the generations that are coming after us. It taught me to advocate for myself and that I would not I could have prevented a lot if I spoke up for myself. And so I became a doula to prepare myself for my next baby but also be there for the numerous of women who can't speak up for themselves who may be scared to speak up for themselves. I go there to make them feel safe and supported and that this is their day their journey and if they need someone to speak up for them I will be that person. We have been raised, it has been ingrained in us to keep other folks out your business. So we end up suffering in silence. And with anything that you hold down layer upon layer upon layer, eventually it explodes. >> Many pregnancies are different from one to the other. But if you're if you um want to soldier on and and and suffer in silence, that may cost you your life and the life of your baby. As hard as it is to hear, no one can help you if they don't know. When we tell our stories, we can create actual change. I didn't want to tell my pain because I was embarrassed. You don't have to look at it that way. You have a voice. Don't silence it because your story can help somebody else. [Music]