Elaine Welteroth and Serena Williams have teamed up to help combat the Black maternal health crisis in the U.S.
In honor of Black Maternal Health Week, Welteroth announced the launch of her “birthcare revolution” BirthFUND on April 11. Weltroth enlisted the help of Williams and other celebrities to reduce the mortality rate for Black mothers and help provide them with midwifery services.
“We’re done waiting for someone else to fix what’s broken. It’s on us to save us. One family at a time,” Welteroth wrote on Instagram.
Welteroth and Williams also penned an essay for Time Magazine covering why “We Shouldn’t Have to be Willing to Die to Give Birth in the United States.” In the piece, the pair detailed their birthing experiences, highlighting how Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
“Having babies in America was a wake-up call for both of us. Like many parents, and first-time parents at that, we never anticipated the harrowing experiences we’d have on the road to becoming mothers,” they wrote. “We have both accomplished a lot in our lives and careers—from Grand Slams to history-making career appointments—needless to say, we can do hard things.”
“But nothing made us feel as disempowered as being pregnant and Black in America, left to rely upon a medical system that is statistically failing people who look like us,” the pair continued.
“The CDC reports Black women are three times more likely to die during and after childbirth than white women,” they added. “Giving birth shouldn’t have made us fearful for our lives, but we both were. And the overall picture isn’t good for any of us. Many people still think of the maternal health crisis as a far-away problem. It is not. Nearly half of mothers in this country label their births as traumatic.”
“Founding Family Funders” including Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, Savannah James, Ayesha Curry, Kelly Rowland, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, and Karlie Kloss are supporting the BirthFUND by raising money for midwifery care for families in need.
“Our goal with birthFUND is to help remove financial barriers to quality care and to expand both education and choice. No matter where or how they decide to give birth, parents deserve access to safe, dignified care,” they wrote. “Right now, that human right is out of reach for far too many. It’s taking too long to fix what’s broken. We are ready to tackle this issue, head on. We hope families—and companies—all over the country will join us.”
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