Voices Unheard: An Expert’s Crusade Against Black Maternal Mortality

Voices Unheard: An Expert’s Crusade Against Black Maternal Mortality

January 12, 2024
"Black Maternal Health"

Dr. Jamil Norman reveals deep systemic issues and advocates for change amidst the U.S. Black maternal health crisis in an article she wrote for The Motherly Collective. 

Program coordinator at Adtalem’s Walden University, Dr. Jamil Norman, recently wrote a powerful piece in The Motherly Collective, which aims to share diverse motherhood experiences and expert advice.  

Dr. Norman addresses the critical issue of Black maternal mortality in the U.S. and begins this revelation with a stark statistic: Black women in the U.S. face a childbirth mortality rate nearly three times higher than white women.

A personal encounter with this tragedy, losing a former nursing student and her baby during childbirth, underlines the severity of the issue.  

It is unacceptable that a healthy, young Black woman would die in childbirth in the U.S. today. But it happens every day—and it doesn’t have to. More than 80% of U.S. fatalities due to pregnancy could have been prevented.

Despite common stereotypes, this student was educated, middle-class, and health-aware, shattering misconceptions about who is affected by this crisis.

Dr. Norman’s research, begun in 2019, delves into Black women's perceptions of the U.S. healthcare system during pregnancy and childbirth.Â