ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Leaders with Evara Health said they're making some changes when it comes to Black maternal healthcare.
"We will implement innovative approaches to impact the lives of our families. This includes remote patient monitoring and home visits," said Dr. Nicole Threadgill, Evara Health's CMO.
And it's all thanks to a $2 million dollar grant from the Department of Health and Human Services.
"This individualized focus will break down barriers of social determinants of health and enable us to monitor vital signs, to detect early warning signs of complications and to intervene promptly," said Dr. Threadgill.
They're proposed changes that come as long-time trends show that Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die due to pregnancy-related causes.
But we wanted to know what Black moms like Ariel Williams, LCSW, wanted to see done.
"I wouldn't change it. If I decided to have another child, I would definitely do that route. The hospital just never was a thing for me," said Williams.
Williams told me learning about those disparities led her to choose a midwife and birthing center—when pregnant with her now two-year-old daughter Brinley.
And she said when it comes to closing those gaps educating people on their birthing options is key.
"[The] socioeconomic status of people is a big deal, right? If you have access to education, if you have access to resources, you make better decisions," said Williams.
For Courtney West, one of the quickest fixes for the problem is doula care.
"The issue that we're having is there's not enough doulas to go around for bodies," she said.
To increase those numbers and improve outcomes, West—who is a doula herself—said she wants to see more comprehensive education for doulas funded locally...
"We also need to fund them being mentored. We need to fund how this is working. It doesn't help us to have 'Okay, we have 1,000 doulas but they don't know how to move in the medical practices,'" said West, "I work with commonsense childbirth institute and they're actually bringing a course here in July and they'll be here from 27, 28 and 29 and this is where we do doula education and it's a doula course."
