Why are more Black women dying during childbirth?

Brut America

She died after giving birth. Her partner says Amber Rose Isaac was neglected by medical staff because she was Black.  Now he’s fighting so more Black mothers live to raise their babies.

Transcript

00:00Amber was just such a phenomenal person.

00:06One of the most selfless, caring people I've ever met in my entire life.

00:11She just had such a motherly essence to her.

00:24Elias has Amber's warm, welcoming smile.

00:30It just brings back a lot sometimes, because I used to look forward to that smile every

00:37single day.

00:46When it came to Amber and her concerns and her body, she was just being ignored.

00:51She was being brushed off.

00:53So I 100% believe this was racial.

00:55In fact, our very first appointment with the OBGYN, it felt very off-putting for me, because

01:04she was more or less concerned with our marital status and us having a baby.

01:22It was just very hard for her to breathe.

01:24She always felt weak in her fatigue, but mainly the breathing was a huge issue for her.

01:33It went from us being able to walk half a mile to get to the park while she's pregnant,

01:40to barely being able to make it down the block, and I would pretty much have to carry her

01:44back home.

02:12Amber's scared, and I'm not able to console her the way I usually do.

02:17I couldn't even hold her hand, because the nurses were going over COVID regulations,

02:25and I couldn't be too close to her, even though we both passed our COVID tests.

02:30They weren't allowing me to hug her, kiss her, anything.

02:32I just had to talk to her from afar.

02:43Once your platelet levels are at a 125, they need to be monitored and ready for treatment.

02:48By the time I got to the hospital, Amber's platelet levels were below 25.

02:53Her blood was like water.

02:55Her blood was unable to clot.

03:02Of course, they weren't educating us.

03:04They weren't making us aware of this.

03:11Finding out all of this information and studying afterwards, I'm finding out Amber was as good

03:18as dead when she walked into that hospital, and her platelet levels had been deteriorating

03:54I feel like if you're not high risk, you should be in a birthing center where they

04:03can educate you and teach you and prevent you from even becoming high risk.

04:09They guide you from start to finish.

04:30These women know their bodies.

04:31If they feel like something is off, it's worth checking out.

04:35There's no fancy new equipment that's needed.

04:39Standard care just needs to be implemented for each and every person, no matter their

04:47color or creed.

04:52That's just not what's going on.

04:54It's blatantly racist.

05:05People ask me now, where are you finding your strength to do this from?

05:17I simply let them know that this is not me.

05:19This is Amber's strength.

05:20This is the strength of Amber.

05:25Just such a life-changing woman.

05:27I'm so grateful that I got to be with her in this lifetime.

05:35I'm so grateful that I got to be with her in this lifetime.

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