CHICAGO (WLS) — ABC7 Chicago's “Black Moms Rising” series on race and culture continues to shine a light on motherhood in the black community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered $118 million to fund efforts to address maternal deaths nationwide, including in Illinois. The funding goes to a team of experts tasked with collecting data and developing solutions.
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The funding will help continue the work of the Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee, one of 46 committees nationwide working to prevent maternal deaths during childbirth.
ABC7 has learned the Illinois commission focused heavily on mothers of color.
See also | Black Mothers Rising: A $10 Million Study from the University of Illinois at Chicago Seeks to Reduce Maternal Mortality in the U.S.
Last July, nurse Dominique Mori forced herself out of her car and into a delivery room she knew she might never get out of.
“I sat in the car for 15 minutes crying because I was so scared to go to the hospital to deliver the baby,” Mori said. “I was almost diagnosed with gestational diabetes.”
Mori said her personal experience as a nurse was the only reason the mother and her baby survived that day. That’s part of the reason the CDC is partnering directly with the Illinois Department of Health, which is receiving more than half a million dollars annually over the next five years to help strengthen the work of maternal death review committees.
“The committees are increasingly able to turn to each other to learn from each other and really accelerate their impact,” said David Goodman, chief of the CDC’s maternal mortality prevention team.
The Illinois Commission, a team of 25 to 50 experts in the field, conducts in-depth analyses of maternal deaths and then makes a list of recommendations.
“Eight of these bills have already been passed…and become law or have been signed into law,” Goodman said.
Among the recommendations is expanding Medicaid to support women after childbirth.
Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Samir Vohra said they want to continue their efforts on things like child tax credits, home visiting programs, and diaper equity programs. He said all of these issues are critical to mothers of color.
“Even if we take away things like economics and so on, there is a gap between the results when we talk about black women and white women,” Dr. Vohra said.
See also | Black Mothers Rise: Women Becoming Single Mothers by Choice Through Assisted Reproductive Technology
According to the Illinois Department of Health, black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy. The report goes on to show that more than 80% of all pregnancy-related deaths could have been prevented.
“We go in and expect to come out with a healthy mother and baby, and sometimes that's not the case,” Mori said.
Dr. Vohra said his team is using government power to make stopping abortion a priority.
“The state of Illinois hears you,” Dr. Vohra said.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state has allocated more than $20 million to maternal health in this year’s budget. It also encourages mothers to take advantage of available resources.
Resources for Moms: https://www.healthychoiceshealthyfutures.org/
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