Serena Williams revisits her NEAR DEATH experience while birthing daughter Olympia, on Black Maternal Health week
Serena Williams says individuals can make a difference when it comes to maternal health
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Few people know how Serena Williams almost died after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Junior. It’s been 5 years since the incident, but the tennis star took to her Instagram account yesterday and revisited the horror. Serena Williams who is also a UNICEF goodwill ambassador thinks it’s important to highlight the grave challenges of maternal health across the globe.
The problem becomes especially serious in impoverished countries or for women of color. Serena Williams said, “Black women in the Un ited States are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes.” Linking the article that she wrote for CNN in 2018, she writes, “Every mother, everywhere, regardless of race or background deserves to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.“
In her CNN article, Williams talks about how women across the world struggle to give birth. The impact is catastrophic, sometimes leading to the death of the mother or child when there are complications and the mothers don’t get the right treatment. Serena Williams considers herself lucky as she had the best medical treatment. She was quite self-aware as she self diagnosed her condition of pulmonary embolism post her C-section delivery. But many women are not so lucky. The medical team addressing are not well trained or inaccessible at the right time.
Serena Williams says these maternity-related deaths can be prevented if steps are taken in the right direction by all nations. Simple solutions exist and should be made more accessible to everyone in the world.
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Serena Williams urges fans to help make maternal health better
Serena Williams says each individual can make a difference. There are simple solutions existing, but scattered. Individuals can demand their government consolidate the efforts on maternal health. People could also donate to UNICEF and other maternity-related organizations globally and locally. She also says there shouldn’t be any discrimination based on race and color when it comes to achieving medical assistance during pregnancy.
Other solutions she suggests are recruiting and training more doctors and midwives, guaranteeing clean and functional health facilities. Making the top 10 lifesaving drugs and equipment available, and empowering adolescent girls to demand quality care.
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Deeksha Nigam
(173 Articles Published)