The Importance of Bump Day

This was taken in my last trimester when I was pregnant with my daughter, Veena. My entire pregnancy was full of happiness, joy — yes, some stress about what was to come because it was my first — but never stress about my birth or my health journey. I had every confidence that I would get the utmost care and consideration by my doctor and healthcare professionals. I had several resources at my disposal to make sure I was in the best possible position to have a healthy pregnancy and childbirth experience.

Sadly, that is not the case for all mothers in our country and it needs to be. I posted this photo and a similar post to instagram when Bump Day (created by What to Expect) took place on July 22nd. However, I wanted to write a longer post here to expand on why this issue is so very important.

The United States by and large is the wealthiest nation on earth. However, we seem to not be utilizing our resources and taking care of our expectant mothers. Out of 10 similarly wealthy countries, the US had the highest number of maternal deaths per capita in 2018. (Vox.Com) As it states on the What to Expect website, “More American women die of pregnancy and childbirth-related causes than moms from any other developed country. In fact, while the maternal mortality rate has steadily been decreasing in other nations, the rate in the U.S. has been on the rise since 2000.” This largely effects women who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women.

How can this be? We are the wealthiest nation, we spend more per capita on healthcare than any other industrialized nation. This should NOT be the case here, but it is. That’s the reality. All women should have respectful and equitable care and access to resources especially when they are bringing human life into the world. We all came from a mother. We deserve to fight for these mothers and their families.

I asked the question, “how can this be?” Well, one of the answers is racism. Racist beliefs about Black women’s bodies and their ability to experience pain are shockingly widespread. Several Black women have shared that their health concerns are not listened to and that they are dismissed at the blink of an eye. We all know that the only person who can tell what’s happening in your body is you. Especially when expecting. There are so many things that you feel in your body and your baby. We deserve medical professionals and a healthcare system that respects that.

Now with the pandemic and policies changing with Covid-19, even more women are at risk because of rules not allowing a support person in the room. I can’t tell you how important it was for me to have my doula and my husband in the room with me going through my labor experience. My doula especially advocated for me in areas where I was too tired or out of it and helped my husband and I through the process. This is one of the most vulnerable and life changing events in a woman’s life, we need all the tender loving care possible pre, during and post birth.

There are so many articles out there and I encourage you, especially if you are fellow mother reading this, to look into this issue and choose to advocate on behalf of these mothers and women who need us to help fight for them. They are dying. DYING. Their children are DYING. Unnecessarily. It has to stop. Especially in the United States of America.

One organization that provides important statistics, information and ways to take action is Every Mother Counts. I have been so impressed with how easy they make it to advocate for policy and system change. They let you know what legislation is being put forth in various states or nationally and how you can directly help. Obviously donations are another way to directly help, but if you can’t give money that’s ok! They need advocates to write emails, make calls, support policies that are going to benefit all mothers and children and revolutionize our healthcare system. They have forms on the website that literally take five minutes to fill out and they get sent directly to your representatives. They make it that easy to take action. They also tackle international legislation and help women all over the world.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I had an immense amount of privilege in my experience and I want those same privileges for all who choose to bring the most precious thing into this world, human life. Please join me in supporting that however you can.