Black Maternal Health Week (Two Pregnancy Stories)

African American women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women – and this disparity increases with age. Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Racial and ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related deaths have persisted over time and it is time that we bring awareness to this. Today Sam Dupe and Tell Mikell's wives come on the show to tell the story of their maternity experience. Brandi (Sam Dupe's wife) tell's the story of her traumatic experiences leading up to her twin girls' birth and Courtney (Mikell's wife) tells her story of her pregnancy-induced health complications in giving birth to her twins. Although Brandi and Courtney gave birth at the same hospital the level of care they received had some similarities at some points and were completely different during different stages.  We discuss the lack of empathy for black women and how black maternal pain and voices are not being heard as loud as their counterparts.