MLK Day Reflections: Honoring the Legacy of Civil Rights and Maternal Health
This morning, I had the profound honor of attending an MLK Day breakfast where Lynda Blackmon Lowery delivered the keynote address. As the youngest person to march from Selma to Montgomery during the historic Civil Rights Movement, her legacy of activism speaks for itself. Yet, her story that gripped me the most wasn’t just about her role in our nation’s fight for civil rights—it was about her mother and the tragic loss she experienced as a child, a loss that reflects the deep disparities we still see in maternal healthcare today.
Lynda began by sharing how her journey as an activist started with a devastating personal experience. After giving birth to Lynda’s younger sister, her mother experienced a postpartum hemorrhage and desperately needed a blood transfusion. However, the hospital refused to give her “white blood” and insisted that they needed to call a Black hospital for “negro blood.” The delay in getting that blood—coupled with her father’s frantic 96-mile journey to pick it up himself—meant that by the time her father returned with the life-saving blood, Lynda’s mother had already passed away, just 15 minutes earlier.
It was impossible to hear this story and not feel the immense weight of history, racism, and loss. As a doula, and as someone who has experienced postpartum hemorrhage and needed a blood transfusion myself, the story of Lynda’s mother hit me on a deeply personal level. We all bleed the same color, and yet systemic racism robbed Lynda’s family of her mother’s life—just as it continues to affect Black maternal and infant health outcomes today.
Here in Ohio, we are still grappling with these deep-rooted inequalities. In 2024, Ohio received a failing grade for maternal and infant health. Preterm birth rates remain high, and the disparities are stark—especially for Black mothers and babies. The preterm birth rate for Black women is higher than the state’s average, and between 2008 and 2017, Black women died during birth two and a half times more than white women. These alarming statistics cannot be explained by factors such as income, education, or marital status. The systemic inequities run deeper.
But there is hope—and a path forward.
Doulas save lives. Research has consistently shown that having a doula as part of the birthing team improves outcomes for both mothers and babies. Doulas help reduce C-sections by 50%, shorten labor time by 25%, and decrease the need for other medical interventions by more than 50%. Doulas are especially critical in addressing the racial disparities in maternal health. They advocate for mothers, provide continuous emotional and physical support, and help ensure that every mother’s voice is heard.
As we honor Dr. King’s legacy today, let’s also remember the mothers and babies who deserve our attention, our advocacy, and our care. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but through collective effort, we can ensure that maternal health—like all healthcare—becomes equitable, accessible, and just.
We all bleed the same color. Let’s make sure we all receive the same care.
By your side,
