Charlotte, N.C. / April 30, 2020 - Rachel Davis, program director of Johnson C. Smith University’s Lactation Consultant Training Program, was a panelist for Rep. Alma Adam’s fifth annual Women’s Symposium on Black Maternal Health. The panel, which featured appearances from Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, was held April 16, 2020 during Black Maternal Health Week.
“Being a panelist allowed me the opportunity to educate a larger number of people and share the biases women of color face daily,” Davis said. “It is shocking to see that these inequities still exist today, but these symposiums also bring about opportunities for people to get involved right where they are and make a difference – even if it is for only one life,” Davis emphasized.
Black women are nearly three times more likely than white women – and more than twice as likely as women of other races – to die from preventable, pregnancy-related complications. Additionally, Black women are twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death.
Davis knows too well about the disparities plaguing expectant minority mothers. It’s the sole reason she helped to develop the LCTP at an HBCU. Currently in its inaugural year, JCSU’s Pathway 2 Training Program, which partners with Novant Health, is the only program of its kind at an HBCU.
“The program is the result of a six year endeavor with key players from several health organizations, who regularly work with black mothers, that came together to catapult this program forward,” she said.
The primary goal of JCSU’s LCTP, is to help diversify the field of lactation to include more people of color, positively impact health outcomes, help address breastfeeding and health disparities and inequities, and provide more culturally relevant skilled lactation care.
In addition to symposiums, Davis feels stories of Serena Williams and Shalon Irving have helped to bring awareness to the disparities and biases women of color face when pregnant. Following the birth of her daughter, Williams experienced a pulmonary embolism, a sudden blockage of an artery in the lung by a blood clot. According to Williams, she had to insist a doctor give her a CT scan after a nurse refused to take her concerns seriously. Irving, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was not as lucky. She collapsed and died three weeks after giving birth from complications of high blood pressure.
“It is imperative that expectant mothers attend events like this, read and learn about what is happening in society,” Davis elaborated.
Now in its fifth year, Adams’ symposium continues to prove its relevance, reporting record attendance despite challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The symposium was held virtually, utilizing Zoom, with nearly 800 participants, and 2,500 views on Facebook.
