Shreveport project aims to bring awareness to Black maternal health

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Black Maternal Health Week is April 11-17, and it brings awareness to improving the health of Black mothers and their babies.

The Shreveport Collective Impact Project is teaming up with other community organizations to host a series of events during the week. The project is funded by the March of Dimes and Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation.

“I would repeatedly say ‘I don’t want to be. I want to just let things happen naturally.’ He would just fight with me, fight with me ... to the point the doctor told me, ‘I’m going to keep asking you if you want to be induced until you give in,” Crystal Taylor told KSLA News 12.

“I was successful in having a natural, unmedicated birth, which is shocking, which it shouldn’t be.”

Taylor is a mother of two. She said her experience giving birth to her firstborn inspired her to become a birth worker.

“I’m just passionate about being about to help people in any way they need.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women.”

Dallis Coleman, a Registered Nurse, said this staggering statistic should be widely known and understood. “It’s real; it’s happening in the day to day. There’s things we can do about it.”

Black Maternal Health Week activities

The following events are free and open to the public:

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 8 a.m.

Black Maternal Health Advocacy Day

Virtual Town Hall

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 11:30 a.m.

News Conference

Steps of the Louisiana state Capitol (Baton Rouge)

Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6 p.m.

Screening of the movie “Chocolate Milk”

Shreveport Community Wellness Center - Amerihealth Caritas

3709 Jewella Ave. in Shreveport

Saturday, April 15, 2022 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Black Maternal Health Fair

Shreveport Birth Center

809 College St. in Shreveport

If you’re interested in being a part of the Shreveport Collective Impact Project or want more information about the upcoming events, you can contact Daphne Robinson.

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