HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Over the course of a week, ABC Action News spoke to Black women of all backgrounds from across the Tampa Bay area who say they almost died giving birth.
And experts said it's a trend that is much bigger than just them.
Ciara's Story
Ciara Tucker lives in St. Petersburg. She told us that chest pains and a trip to her local clinic in 2019 led to a major shock. She was 11 weeks pregnant with twins, 21 years after having her first baby.
"Oh no, I was done with children. I was done with that aspect of my life. I have grandchildren, so I definitely never thought in a million years that I would be having another child," she said.
And then five weeks later...another shock.
"I was told then that 'Baby B' didn't make it. 'Baby A,' which is Jayvion, consumed or absorbed...he ate his twin, in other words," she said.
Tucker told us her pregnancy was pretty smooth after that. And she started working with a midwife and doulas to create a home birth plan.
"I just wanted the more personal, one-on-one care, that I would get," she said.
That plan was on track until a check-up on March 19, 2020, revealed issues with her blood pressure. And meant she would have to give birth at a local hospital.
"I felt like, at this point, all chaos just broke out," she said.
But the start of the pandemic meant new rules for who could come with you to give birth.
"You can't come in. He can't come in. Just her and the doctors, and I'm like, 'hold on,'" she said.
Tucker said she had to fight to make sure her husband and at least one of her doulas were allowed in with her. And she credits that fight with saving her and her baby's life after induction and 27 hours of labor.
"I'm telling them like listen, you know, 'It's time.' so she's like 'No, it's not time.' Whatever the case may be,'" she said.
But Tucker said it was time and that soon became clear to everyone.
"Baby's head was halfway already coming on out by the time the doctor done came back in the room and he was like putting the gloves on," she said.
She now has a healthy three-year-old named Jayvion, but she wonders what would have happened if a doula hadn’t been there to advocate for her.
"They made the experience better, safer, and they were our voice," she said.
Ciera's Story
In Lithia, we sat with Ciera Watson as she cradled her third and final bundle of joy.
"This little handsome fella is called Milo. Born April 9, at 12:05 a.m., on Easter," she said.
As she rocked him to sleep, she told us that she had some health complications to be mindful of during this pregnancy.
"In 2018, I had high blood pressure and because of my age, they considered me to be high-risk due to my age. As well as due to the fact that I had cardiomyopathy," she said.
She added that lifestyle changes and a birthing team helped her manage them. Instead, what truly terrified her was the idea of repeating her 2018 birth experience, which came with complications.
"Just knowing what I experienced in 2018 from the care that was provided for me while in labor," she said.
And she said, above all else, she didn't feel heard.
"It's very terrifying. It's very terrifying to tell a provider what you're experiencing while you're laboring and being told, 'Oh, this is normal. It's this, it's that.' Oftentimes it's not normal," she said.
But she said for her second daughter's delivery in 2021 and Milo's delivery, her birth team made all the difference.
"I don't think it would have been possible without a doula," she said.
To learn more about these parallel experiences, we went to speak with the doula, Courtney West, who cared for both of these Black mothers.
"We see this all the time," said West.
Courtney West said these women's stories mirror her own from almost a decade ago.
"I almost died. I was a medical professional, same thing nurse walked out, they weren't listening I was eclamptic, [and] I started having a seizure," West said, "[The] doctor was furious. Because here is my ex-husband and my mother holding my baby because they left us. And I was like, 'No one should go through this.'"
And she became a doula because of it.
"A doula is a person who is an advocate for the families," West said.
West said lack of access to quality healthcare, poor quality of life, and medical racism all play a role in the specific and traumatic outcomes that many Black women and other women of color experience while giving birth.
"In medical jargon and how medical studies are done, they say Black women automatically have higher blood pressure, we can take lots and lots of pain, with less anesthetic, and to not listen to us because we are naturally loud," West said.
"So as a Black doula, it's very imperative that you can say 'Stop. No, no. No. You've not even looked at her. Stop looking at the chart and look at her. This is Ciara. This is not Black Mother 125. This is Ciara," she added.
The Numbers
Dr. Ronee Wilson is a Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiologist who has been working in public health for decades. She told us that nationwide, the number of women who are dying during pregnancy or shortly after is on the rise.
"It is alarming. Unfortunately, it is not new for us. We've been doing this a while," she said.
According to national data, in 2019, that number was 754. In 2020 it was 861 and in 2021, it was 1,205.
She added that when we're specifically talking about Black moms, it's happening at a rate much higher than White moms.
"We do see in the nation, in our state, and in our local communities that Black moms are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes," Dr. Wilson said.
According to the Florida Department of Health, over the past few years, the local maternal death rates—per every 100,000 live births—for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties seem to support that concern.
Hillsborough County Maternal Death Rate
| Year | Black mothers | White mothers |
| 2018 | 54.2 | 16.6 |
| 2019 | 0 | 8.5 |
| 2020 | 53.5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 26 | 16.9 |
Pinellas County Maternal Death Rate
| Year | Black mothers | White mothers |
| 2018 | 69.8 | 34.1 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 158.6 | 18.7 |
| 2021 | 79.6 | 37.3 |
When it comes to the rate at which mothers are experiencing severe maternal morbidity—or nearly dying during a delivery hospitalization—Dr. Wilson said the numbers are no better. In fact, she said that Black mothers are often twice as likely as White mothers to experience these outcomes.
And again, the Florida Department of Health data for severe maternal morbidity rates—per every 1,000 delivery hospitalizations—for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties seems to support that concern.
Hillsborough County Severe Maternal Morbidity Rate
| Year | Black mothers | White mothers |
| 2018 | 29.6 | 16.3 |
| 2019 | 32.7 | 18.3 |
| 2020 | 38.9 | 20.9 |
| 2021 | 46.6 | 26.9 |
Pinellas County Severe Maternal Morbidity Rate
| Year | Black mothers | White mothers |
| 2018 | 30.1 | 19.1 |
| 2019 | 35.1 | 18.5 |
| 2020 | 41.2 | 22.9 |
| 2021 | 53.6 | 27.2 |
Dr. Wilson said the age and health of the mother going into pregnancy and birth are factors that can lead to these outcomes, but that’s not all.
"We also have to be very honest about the fact that some of the factors are systems-related. Some of the factors are related to inadequate care," she said.
To better understand why Black women are having such different outcomes and what can be done, the Black Infant and Maternal Mortality (BIMM) Task Force was created.
"So, the Black Infant and Maternal Mortality (BIMM) Task Force began two years ago and it's a partnership between the Healthy Start Coalition and REACHUP, Incorporated," said Cheri Wright-Jones.
Wright-Jones is the task force's Project Lead—who works alongside Dr. Wilson and many others in the community. She said over the past two years, they've been gathering data and talking to women to hear their stories firsthand.
And for her, the biggest takeaway has been what we've heard in our own interviews—that Black women feel unheard.
"I would say the most key and imperative thing is listening to women and listening to women first," she said.
Wright-Jones added that after listening to those women, they found a pattern of systemic issues that reach far beyond the healthcare system.
"We are looking to engage everyone in this process because this is just not an issue for healthcare providers. It is an issue that impacts everything, not just our system of care, but economic[s]. It is impacted by our system of housing, [and] the living conditions that our women and their infants and families live in. We have to address education. As well as family supports," she said.
Both Wright-Jones and Dr. Wilson said to bring those numbers down, the task force will be holding community conversations about the issue. They will also be creating programs to help get women healthy before and during pregnancy and continuing to collect data.
And it's a long-term challenge they said they're up for tackling because, for them, this fight is personal.
"So why [does] this issue matter to me? Because it's personal. Many of my friends have had poor birth outcomes. I would also share that my birthing experience was very challenging for me. From a challenging pregnancy all the way through to a challenging delivery, so this for me is personal," said Wright-Jones.
"I had a wonderful and amazing husband who was there to support me, I had my parents, I had my sister, I had extended family to support me, and yet still being a Black, educated woman who is married who had access to private insurance and the best of care, I almost had a poor birth outcome. And so it is critical for me that I speak out about this issue and that I try to ensure that the next generation is healthy," she added.
"The numbers represent lives lost. They represent families impacted. They represent shifts in our communities, holes that will never be the same," said Dr. Wilson.
You can visit REACHUP, Inc. website to learn more.
To learn more about the Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County, visit their website.
