Underwood, Duckworth in Joliet to talk maternal health crisis in US

A national tour addressing the maternal health crisis in the U.S. made its latest stop Sunday in Joliet.

The tour, called Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers, or MOMS, took place at the Nowell Park Recreation Center.

Organizations such as Silver Cross Hospital and Blue Cross Blue Shield had booths in the center’s gym to provide information and resources for women at risk of pregnancy-related diseases.

The tour was developed to address how the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation in the world, said the Rev. Dr. Que English, director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

English said at least 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. She said the pregnancy-related death rate for Black women is three times higher than for white women and two times higher for American Indians and Alaska Native women than for white women.

English said those deaths occur at a higher rate for women of color because of “lack of education, lack of cultural competency, health care disparities and, yes, racism.”

The MOMS tour is “intentionally targeting those populations,” English said. She said it is important that women are connected to doulas, midwives, medical services and social support services.

“We are showing up and connecting them real time to the ‘village’ to improve our maternal health outcomes in the [U.S.],” English said.

LaToyia Dennis, a Joliet native, spoke on a panel about her experiences dealing with doctors who were not properly diagnosing and treating her pregnancy-related issues. Dennis is CEO of an organization called A Chance to Learn.

After five miscarriages, Dennis said she was able to give birth to a sixth child when she went to a different doctor. But during her pregnancy, Dennis said her doctors had misdiagnosed her, telling her she had a sixth miscarriage, when that was not the case.

At one point, Dennis said she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, which her doctors told her would go away once she had her baby. But after Dennis gave birth, she said she suffered a seizure and her body released fluids.

Dennis said she was dying in that moment.

“I took a shot of apple cider vinegar to lower my blood pressure, and for some reason God spared my life. Because when I went to the doctor or any other time I’ve spoken to an [obstetrician], they say they never met anybody who made it through that situation,” Dennis said.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, was one of the elected officials who joined the MOMS tour in Joliet. She championed the Momnibus Act, which she said is a “comprehensive package” of 13 evidence-based bills designed to address maternal mortality, morbidity and racial disparities in pregnancy-related deaths.

“It is the comprehensive solution that will bring that 80% figure [of pregnancy-related deaths] down to zero,” Underwood said.

Underwood said the Momnibus Act includes investment to grow and diversify the workforce so women can find medical providers who can speak their language, who share their background and understand their experience.

Underwood said the legislation is meant to provide mental health resources for women.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, also at the Joliet tour, said the high maternal mortality rate among Black women and other women of color is because of “existing structural racism in our health care system that we have to fix.”

“That means that we have teach doctors and clinicians how to listen to women,” Duckworth said.

English said the MOMS tour is targeting 25 cities, including Joliet. She called the tour sites a “village that many don’t even know exists for them.”

“When we were in Dallas, Texas, case in point: One woman just stood at the door crying. She made that statement, she said, ‘I didn’t know this existed for me,’” English said.