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Transcript/ScriptUS MATERNAL HEALTH
HEADLINE: There’s a Maternal Health Care Crisis in America
TEASER: Black and Native American women more likely to suffer
PUBLISHED: 07/26/2022 at 6:02p
BYLINE: LAUREL BOWMAN
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: WASHINGTON DC
VIDEOGRAPHERS: SAQIB UL ISLAM, ADAM GREENBAUM, MIKE BURKE
PRODUCER: SAQIB UL ISLAM
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Sharon Shahid, DJ (ok)
VIDEO SOURCE (S):
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:51
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((TV INTRO))
((INTRO))
[[Black women and Native American women are more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women in America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vice President Kamala Harris has made maternal health a key piece of her domestic policy agenda. For Wanda Irving, whose daughter died after giving birth, a national response can’t come fast enough. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has our story.]]
((NAT SOUND)) Wanda saying something to granddaughter
((NARRATOR))
In her elder years, Wanda Irving hadn’t planned on raising a child. That changed when her daughter Shalon Irving ((00:11 Courtesy: IRVING FAMILY )) died after giving birth to now 5-year-old Soleil. ((END COURTESY))
((Wanda Irving, Daughter Died After Giving Birth))
:19 “Shalon was wonderful. She was the kind of daughter that every mother dreams of having.”
((NAT SOUND UP – Wanda reading book))
((NARRATOR))
Wanda says Shalon wanted a daughter more than anything ((00:24 Courtesy: IRVING FAMILY)) and that the pregnancy went smoothly. She ate well, exercised and kept up with her doctors’ visits. But after giving birth, her limbs swelled, her blood pressure spiked. ((END COURTESY))
Does Wanda think Shalon communicated well with her doctors?
((Wanda Irving, Daughter Died After Giving Birth))
6:42 She was a certified health education specialist. She had been a professor. // 7:16 She wasn’t heard. She wasn’t respected. She wasn’t believed. None of that.”
((NARRATOR))
The Irving family’s story is far too common, Wanda would learn after launching a nonprofit devoted to the Black maternal health care crisis.
((Courtesy: IRVING FAMILY.)) Maternal health is an issue U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has made a priority. ((END COURTESY))
((Kamala Harris, US Vice President))
"The United States of America has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of any so-called developed country."
((NARRATOR))
Rohini Kosoglu is the vice president’s domestic policy adviser.
((Rohini Kosoglu, Vice President's Domestic Policy Adviser))
:52 “Black women, they are three times as likely to die during pregnancy as white women. ... For Native American women, its twice as likely to die.”
((NARRATOR))
The vice president has spearheaded efforts to address what pregnant and post-partum women need. The list is long: nutrition, transportation, housing …
((Rohini Kosoglu, Vice President's Domestic Policy Adviser))
“Lactation support, access to mental health services, doulas that can help advocate for women in these different hospital settings. We also looked at strengthening the workforce. So, there are shortages around the country of ob-gyns and midwives.”
((NARRATOR))
Behind these efforts is U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood, co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, one of the largest bipartisan caucuses in Congress.
((Rep. Lauren Underwood, Black Maternal Health Caucus))
10:00 “In this country, we know that there is systemic racism in institutions, including in our health care system. // Oh, you have a higher pain tolerance, you are more likely to be addicted, so we are not going to offer you all of the treatment options available.”
((NARRATOR))
Pepper Reed has five children. When she had private health insurance, she says, the births went well. But after she lost that, she says, she didn't receive as much pain medication as before. She describes having her fourth child.
((Pepper Reed, Suffered in Childbirth))
2:50 “It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I actually threw up. I could feel all of the pain. I was crying, yelling, screaming. It was horrible// Because a lot of the doctors and/or the medical staff really do not believe when a mother is telling them that they are in pain.”
((NARRATOR))
Again, congresswoman Underwood.
((Rep. Lauren Underwood, Black Maternal Health Caucus))
11:55 “Usually, there would be things called protective factors, meaning higher income, higher education level, you are employed, you have health insurance, you got your pre-natal care … // For Black people in this country, none of those things are protective."
((NARRATOR))
Change can’t come soon enough for Wanda Irving. She remembers the last time she and her daughter spoke.
((Wanda Irving, Daughter Died After Giving Birth))
9:22 “She said, 'Mom I don’t know what’s going on, but is it going to be OK?' And I said, 'Yeah, baby, it’s going to be fine. We are going to get through this. It's going to be all right. // ((Courtesy: IRVING FAMILY)) 9:55 And to this day, I have the guilt …((end courtesy)) telling my daughter it was going to be OK when it wasn’t.”
((LAUREL BOWMAN, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateJuly 27, 2022 18:46 EDT
Byline((LAUREL BOWMAN, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
