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Caribbean Life, April 21-27, 2022
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn. Corazon Aguirre
Bichotte-Hermelyn
commemorates Black
Maternal Health Week
By Nelson A. King
With this year marking the fifth anniversary
of the Black Maternal Health Week
Campaign, Haitian American Assemblymember
Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn
is commemorating Black Maternal Health
Week that runs from April 11-17.
“When you’re pregnant, it’s the start
of new beginnings, a celebratory time,”
said Bichotte-Hermelyn who chairs of
the Brooklyn Democratic Party. “But the
health care system is failing Black families,
leaving women to wonder if they will
leave the hospital alive.
“Pregnancy-related deaths in the United
States are skyrocketing, and Black
women are more at risk than women of
any other race,” added the representative
for the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.
“Infant mortality is also nearly twice
as high for Black women.
“I know this loss firsthand, and the
pain of losing a child is unimaginable,”
she added. “During this week of awareness,
we must take action to stop structural
racism from claiming additional
lives.”
Bichotte-Hermelyn noted that, in 2018,
Congresswoman Alma Adams introduced
the first Congressional resolution recognizing
Black Maternal Health Week with
then-Sen. Kamala Harris, now US vice
president.
On April 13, 2021 President Joe Biden
signed a proclamation which established
Black Maternal Health Week to highlight
the racial disparities in maternal mortality
rates in the United States.
Bichotte-Hermelyn said that Black
Maternal Health Week, which was founded
and led by the Black Mamas Matter
Alliance, is “an initiative that aims to
deepen the conversation around Black
maternal health in the US.”
“Black women are three to four times
more likely to die from pregnancy related
causes than their white counterparts and
infant mortality is nearly two times as
high in Black communities,” she said,
stating that the most recent preterm
birth statistics show that the rate of preterm
birth among Black women is about
50 percent higher than the rate of preterm
birth among white women.
“In our district, the Morris Heights
Health Center will now combat these
disparities and offer the patient-centered
care we have been longing for, closer
to home,” Bichotte-Hermelyn added.
“Through enriching dialogue surrounding
Black maternal health, we can raise
awareness of the problem and continue to
develop solutions, policies for the betterment
of Black women.”