INDIANAPOLIS — This week is Black Maternal Health Week and local advocates are raising awareness to shed light on disparities in hopes of getting one step closer to eliminating them.
"So often black voices are not heard,” said Registered Nurse Sierra Woods.
Woods helped organize an event Saturday called “Nourishing Our Roots: Nurturing Conversations on Black Maternal Health" to uplift voices she believes have long been ignored.
"My goal is always to spread the information, but also educate people so that they can then share that information with other people,” she explained.
Saturday's session featured a planting workshop to encourage everyone to nourish their own roots first. There was also a chance for Black women to connect and learn from a panel of medical experts.
It comes amid Black Maternal Health Week, which is April 11-17. The goal is to shed light on racial inequities women of color face while giving birth.
"Black moms are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications compared to white women. In Indiana, we rank third highest in maternal mortality, which is really a shocking number,” explained Aliscia Pace, a Family Nurse Practitioner who also helped organize the event.
Those alarming statistics is why Mischa Gaddis, who just had her fourth child, showed up to share her story.
"I really advocated for myself when it came to me showing up to the hospital. I personally don't feel safe in the hospital, so I advocated to get back home to be cared for by my midwives,” said Gaddis.
"Events like these, I think, are important because not only does it create community among black women, it creates awareness and a safe space to ask the tough questions,” added Hollin Hart, another mother who attended the event after recently having a baby.
The biggest goal of Saturday’s event was to empower Black women to speak up so that more mothers can go home to their babies.
"I'm trying to educate more mothers, even before they get pregnant and get into these situations where [they say] 'If I knew better I could have advocated for myself," said Woods. "Hopefully it helps bring these numbers down more."
More than two dozen mothers, medical professionals and advocates attended the first-of-its-kind event hosted by the organizers.
They hope to hold it every year.
For more resources on Black Maternal Health resources, click here.
