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News

Spotlighting Black Maternal Health Week

Parkland Health programs offer tips and access to care for expecting and new mothers

April 11, 2022

Thank you McKesson

Becoming a mother is a beautiful and difficult journey with many sacrifices expected along the way. But in this modern era, the one thing no mother should ever need to sacrifice is her life.

Tragically, the maternal mortality rate in the US has continued to rise over the past two decades and recent data indicates a startling fact: The rates of maternal mortality are three times higher among Black women, both nationally and among women in Texas, including Dallas County. Parkland Health (Parkland) identified this racial disparity as a key finding in the 2019 Dallas County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The Center for Disease Control cites several factors influencing racial disparities in maternal mortality including access to healthy foods, reliable transportation, healthcare coverage, and housing. Ultimately, maternal mortality has both individual and community consequences as the tragic death of a mother disrupts the economic and social fabric of communities for multiple-generations. 

Help Parkland provide the quality, compassionate care by making a gift today

From April 11-17, 2022, Parkland will help raise awareness by participating in Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW). Founded by Black Mamas Matter Alliance in 2017, BMHW is a week of awareness, activism and community building intended to amplify the national conversation regarding community-driven policy, research and care solutions, along with a handful of other goals for Black maternal health. 

For Black women, making sure that their voice is heard throughout their pregnancy, during birth and post-partum is important in making sure they receive quality care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant women and their families do the following:

  • Talk to their healthcare providers if anything doesn’t feel right or is concerning.
  • Know and seek immediate care if experiencing urgent maternal warning signs, including severe headache, extreme swelling of hands or face, trouble breathing, heavy vaginal bleeding or discharge, overwhelming tiredness and more.
  • Document and share pregnancy history during each medical care visit for up to one year after delivery.
  • Maintain ongoing healthcare and social support systems before, during and after pregnancy. 

For patients like Taelor Brown, who was facing the possibility of losing her baby after being diagnosed with a fallopian tube pregnancy at another hospital, she turned to Parkland for help. 

“My mom told me I needed to get a second opinion, so I went to Parkland,” Taelor remembers. A second ultrasound revealed her baby was in her womb and growing fine. Right away, Parkland provided her with prenatal care that would result in the birth of a healthy baby girl. “Everyone I came in contact with at Parkland was so calm and peaceful, they calmed me down,” Taelor said about her delivery experience. “Everything was kind of perfect.” “I had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, thanks to Parkland,” Taelor said. 

Last year, approximately 1 in 6 of the more than 12,600 babies born at Parkland were Black, and the hospital’s neonatal mortality rates are among the lowest in the country, partly because we provide prenatal care to 97% of women who deliver.

Sadly, too many of these new mothers are at risk for life-threatening complications for up to one year after giving birth. High blood pressure, heart issues, diabetes, obesity and substance abuse are just some of the conditions which these women face. But getting the care and support they need is especially difficult for vulnerable women with limited financial and social support or who live in under-resourced communities. This is especially true for Black women and patients covered through Medicaid or CHIP Perinatal. Patients on Medicaid are only covered for six months after delivery, and women on CHIP Perinatal only receive two post-partum visits. 

Parkland is filling this gap by improving access to and quality of care for mothers through the following three programs:

  • Nurse Family Partnership: Provides home visits by a nurse to improve the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time parents and their children. The program’s staff begin making home visits during the client’s pregnancy and continue visits through the first two years of the child’s life. They work with clients to achieve three fundamental goals: healthy pregnancy, healthy children and healthy personal development.
  • Dallas Healthy Start: Established to provide individual, customized education and support to low-income women and families with the goal of preventing infant mortality (death of an infant in the first year of life). Clients include pregnant women and mothers of infants less than 2 years old. Program participants are educated on the importance of consistently keeping prenatal appointments to ensure healthy pregnancy and positive pregnancy outcomes. Case Managers monitor client compliance with keeping appointments and offer bus passes to eliminate any transportation barriers.
  • Extending Maternal Care After Pregnancy: Addresses and improves access to care before and after the Medicaid coverage window, as well as addressing a health disparity that contributes to systemic racism. For an entire year and at no cost to the mothers, they will work with a community health worker, a nurse and other members of a multi-disciplinary community-based team, who will then transfer their care to a primary care physician at one of Parkland’s 12 community health centers closest to their home. This team-based approach creates a support network for the mothers, helping to reduce the risks for potentially life-threatening conditions, to improve mental health outcomes, and to discourage substance abuse as a coping mechanism during the stressful weeks and months following the birth of a baby.  

Every woman, regardless of race, income or geography, deserves access to life-saving healthcare and support as they navigate their motherhood journey. Parkland stands ready to serve, but we can’t do it alone; we need your help.

Help Parkland provide the quality, compassionate care by making a gift today

 

 

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1341 W. Mockingbird Ln.
Suite 1100E
Dallas, Texas 75247
Phone: 214-266-2000
Fax: 214-266-2050
ParklandHealthFoundation@phhs.org

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