She checked the incision — "warm dry no [sign/symptom] of infection" — and noted Shalon's mental state ("cooperative, appropriate mood & affect, normal judgment"). " And it takes more out of you than you expected it should. Nothing can break the bond we have and you will forever be my mommy and I your baby girl! Doctors found a blood clot and diagnosed her with Factor V Leiden, a genetic mutation that makes blood prone to abnormal clumping. I've never seen so many Ph.D.s. Yet, between 2000 and 2013, high Black maternal death rates placed the United States second worst in maternal mortality among 31 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations. She was also overweight and often anxious, given to daydreaming (as she later put it) about "alternative realities where people hadn't died and things had not been lost." 'Go to the f****** doctor.' Two members of the U.S. Bianca Pryor, a Bronx-based consumer behavior researcher, became lifelong friends with Shalon. I want you to be happy and smile. Even though Shalon's villagers fulfilled their pledges at the memorial service, coming by often to give Wanda a break, the first months were borderline unbearable — the baby was colicky, prone to gastric problems that kept both of them up all night. In Portland, no one would have blinked an eye at an unmarried professional woman having a child on her own, but in Atlanta, "there is very much a vibe there that things should happen in a certain order," Pryor said. Maternal Mortality Review Information Application; Data Brief From 14 U.S. Maternal Mortality Review Committees, 2008-2017; Preventing Pregnancy-Related Deaths plus icon. Ever since Sam III had died, Wanda and Shalon had made a point of traveling someplace special on painful anniversaries. I talked to them. 'One leg is larger than the other; she's still gaining weight — 9 pounds in 10 days — the blood pressure is still up. hide caption, "People say to me, 'She won't know her mother.' Black mothers die at a rate that's 3.3 times greater than whites, and Native American or Alaskan Native women die at a rate 2.5 times greater than whites, according to … Her father, Samuel Irving, spent years working for the railroad and later for the city but felt his prospects were limited by his race. Time to get up!' The nurse's notes confirmed Shalon had swelling in both legs, with more swelling in the right one. The sadness in the chapel was crushing. hide caption. Her discovery in mid-2016 that she was pregnant with her first child had been unexpected and thrilling. She's like, 'I called them. Cardiovascular disease is more common among black women and can occur at earlier ages than in white women, she says. She worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, studying how social determinants like food deserts can affect one's health. Eventually the colic went away and Soleil thrived. She made an appointment to see the OB/GYN for the next day, then ended up being too overwhelmed to go, the visiting nurse noted on Jan. 18. But there's also, 'I'm first-generation; I don't know the ropes; I don't how to use my social capital.' "She wanted Soleil to go to Montessori school, so I'm looking for a Montessori school for her," Wanda said. Shalon painted the nursery light blue shortly before Soleil was born. Courtesy of Wanda Irving Instead, Shalon was given an appointment for the next day, Jan. 19, with an OB/GYN at Women's Center at Emory St. Joseph's, which handled her primary care. , affecting quality of care in stark and subtle ways Sunny, in Baltimore to take part in a way..., too of somber faces from the lectern or in the private sector and among women higher. Day to change the dressing it was a chilling phone call, '' said... 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