Detroit Evening Report: Black Maternal Health Week focuses on reducing pregnancy-related deaths of Black women

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Photo of Black mother and Black father holding their child.

This week is Black Maternal Health Week, which brings awareness to the hundreds of Black women dying during pregnancy each year.


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According to everymothercounts.org, the number of women who die giving birth in America each year has doubled in nearly the last two decades. The World Health Organization reports the rate of Black women dying during pregnancy was more than 2.5 times the rate for white women in 2021.

Alexis Grantham, a Detroit-based doula, is on a mission to change this by helping women who are often underserved. Grantham is the founder of Doula in the City, which is an inclusive pregnancy birthing and postpartum experience aiming to further enrich women’s lives.

Doula in the City’s services focus on helping clients identify, develop and unapologetically own the terms of pregnancy at every stage.

Learn more at doulainthecity.com.

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Author

  • Hernz Laguerre
    Hernz Laguerre Jr. is a Multimedia Journalist at 101.9 WDET. He is one of the co-host for "Detroit Evening Report," one of the weekend anchors for "Weekend Edition," the producer for our political podcast, "MichMash," and reports on arts, culture and politics.