PORTLAND, Ore. — Mersades Thompson couldn't be happier to hold her baby in her arms. But everything didn't go as planned during her pregnancy.
"I was definitely on alert when I was in labor and delivering her. We were actually in the hospital for eight days," Thompson said.
She worried about her health and the health of her baby, and thinks more needs to be done to help mothers like her.
The statistics are staggering when it comes to Black maternal health, with many moms dying during pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 80% of pregnancy-related deaths could be prevented.
"I still think that Black women need a lot of care and representation in the health care industry. I was just there obviously, and I can say that we still need a lot of work," Thompson said.
She's not alone, as many are trying to raise awareness about Black maternal health.
Recent studies show in Oregon, maternal deaths more than doubled in the past two decades and the highest rates were among Black mothers.
Infant, neonatal, and post neonatal mortality rates among Black infants were more than double the rate among white infants.
"This is really to raise awareness around the worrisome statistics and what we're seeing in the experience in the U.S. for all moms, but especially for black moms in terms of higher rates of complications and much worse outcomes," said Dr. Nicole Saint Clair.
Those outcomes are happening for Black moms despite their education or economic status.
"You can take a Black woman with a Ph.D. and a high income, and her actual pregnancy outcome statistically still has a much higher likelihood of being worse than a white woman with a low income and only a high school education, and so, it's not necessarily correlated to the resources that we have access to," Saint Clair said.
Doctors say that shows there are many factors causing health inequity. In order to help improve Black maternal health, doctors say Black women need to know their numbers.
"It's really important to take a moment to understand, what is your blood pressure? How does it normally run? Are you at risk for diabetes? Have you been screened, or should you be screened?" Saint Clair said.
They should also talk to their doctor about any changes.
"It's also OK to have an open and candid conversation with your provider, saying, 'Hey, I've seen some really worrisome stats and maybe discuss what you and I are going to do together to help me get through this pregnancy safely at home with my baby' as we all want," Saint Clair said.
And it's important for everyone to keep raising awareness about Black maternal health.
"I think we need to keep them front of mind and continue really advocating in this space, and not just accept these statistics and let them sit, so we need to continue pushing why is this the case and what more we can do?" Saint Clair said.