Editorial: Better support for moms helps babies
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A baby is a reason to celebrate.
From the moment a couple gets the good news, it can be all about looking forward to the happy event. Creative pregnancy announcements. Gender reveal parties. Showers and ultrasounds and names.
But not every pregnancy ends in that kind of joy. While much attention has been paid in the past year to unwanted pregnancies and problems faced before viability, modern Americans tend to forget that childbirth is difficult and potentially dangerous for mother and baby.
A 2019 report by the city of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission showed that nine white babies died out of every 1,000 births. For Black babies, the numbers doubled. They were also more likely to be born early or to have low birth weight.
The numbers weren’t just higher compared to white infants. They were higher than national numbers for Black babies as well. It is a cause for concern that has been taken up in different ways. Perennial rivals Allegheny Health Network and UPMC are joining forces, along with community organizations, nonprofits and the health care workers who support birth. First Steps and Beyond launched in 2022.
This is the kind of effort that needs to be treated like precious cargo. It needs to be supported. It needs to be gently tended. And when it’s hungry, it needs to be fed — or in this case funded.
And we cannot ignore the impact of race — especially when the numbers make it clear it is a factor.
That is not surprising, as childbirth is a process that plays out in the medical arena. Women in general are often dismissed when bringing up concerns to medical professionals. For Black women, it is even worse, with pain and symptoms ignored or underplayed. In 2022, a paper specifically addressed the way Black women’s treatment correlates to preterm births.
Perhaps the best thing that can be done to support all babies — but, in particular, Black babies — is to remember that support has to start with providing a support system for mothers.
Jenea Edwards knows that. She lost her daughter, Maddie, in 2013 and has responded by creating a support group, Maddie’s GEMs. She helps other women who have lost children cope with the pain.
But we need better support for those moms who are eagerly awaiting the day their baby is born, to get them through the exciting but still challenging process of creating a new life — and all the potential pitfalls along the way.