INDIANAPOLIS — Close to 100 women across the state of Indiana died while pregnant, or shortly after giving birth, according to the State Department of Health’s most recent Maternal Mortality Report.
What’s more shocking is close to 80% of those deaths could have been prevented.
Ariana McGree knows firsthand how scary the feeling of not being listened to by a doctor can be. She says she almost died giving birth to her daughter last year.
When she knew something was wrong, she went to the emergency room and says she encountered a doctor that tried to send her home, despite her being in pain.
“I had to advocate for myself. Thank goodness for my mom because she finally called my doctor,” McGee, a speaker at the Women4Change Conference, said.
McGee says when her doctor was notified, she was taken back to the operating room. Doctors discovered she had a uterine window.
“It was essentially a thinning in my uterus. It was so large you could see my daughter’s hair. Had I gone home, had I not had my mom there, my daughter and I would have probably both died,” McGee said.
Before she experienced that life-threatening situation, McGee was already in the process of creating Navigate Maternity. The software platform uses data to support patients and providers throughout the prenatal & postpartum experience.
She says her life-threatening situation drove her to work on the company full time.
“The tools that they get from us are there to make sure they can advocate for themselves. It takes one moment for you not to go to that emergency room because you think it’s not as bad as it is and it could ultimately take your life,” McGee said.
According to Public Policy at Indiana University, Indiana has the third highest maternal mortality rate among all states that track the statistic.
Mother of seven Paradise Bradford says that fact does not shock her.
“I had my first child when I was 15-years-old and had my last child when I was 30-years-old,” Bradford said. “So, between those seven births I had all c-sections and wasn’t really educated on the risk that was taken until my last pregnancy.”
Bradford has taken her lived experience and created a non-profit called Pretty Passionate Hands.
She helps teen moms and dads navigate parenthood. A portion of what she does is educate teen girls about pregnancy complications.
Both women shared their experience at the Women4Change Conference.
The annual State of the Women conference tackles issues women are facing. This year’s conference was focused on maternal healthcare.
While the women attending are doing what they can to be part of the solution, they and Women4Change hope policy makers will take note and listen to the lived experiences of women and create policies to make having children safer in the Hoosier state.
“We are gathering information, but information should propel us to action,” Deborah Hearn-Smith, Chair of the Women4Change Action Board, said. “Without action, it will not be helpful.”
Indiana has the third worst maternal mortality rate in the country.
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries and is the only developed nation in which that rate is rising.
