Hi Reader,

As you may have heard, a Black woman named April Valentine recently died giving birth at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California.

As I said just a few days prior on social media in response to yet another question of why we talk about racism, when a Black body is systemically viewed as non-human, that has implications for healthcare fraught with bias and harm.

It impacts pain management.

It determines whether or not a Black person's concerns is heard.

We have to ask about the quality of care offered for what is happening clinically.

We have to ask about the lack of respect for birth plans.

We have to ask, why we still struggle for BIPOC birthing people to survive.

When you ignore, minimize, and dismiss symptoms, that is when people die.

Look at the maternal mortality reviews.

That is the truth.

Do we care?

Even with statistics staring us in the face, we have a tragedy.

A birthing family was ignored for hours and it led to another senseless death.

HOURS.

When maternal mortality review boards and researchers talk about how most maternal deaths are preventable, this is EXACTLY what they mean.

During times like these, people want to know what we, as a caring community, can do.

There are so many things that need to be done to fix this racist and broken system, but one thing you can do right now is financially support Black-led organizations and individuals who are already doing the work to improve outcomes.

From providing culturally matched care to facilitating diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings to creating legislation addressing the maternal health crisis to training Black doulas to creating a database of Black doulas and midwives and so much more.

​We provide a list of Black-led organizations here.​

If you know of organizations who should be added to this list, please leave a comment at the bottom of that article.

Of course VBAC Facts­® professional members know that we offer our membership to any birth worker of color in a way that keeps cost from being a barrier.

​Thank you to those who have donated to the scholarship fund. ​

This is a good time to be reminded that within membership, we offer a training called "Decoding Maternal Deaths: Why Birthing People Die and How We Can Turn the Tide" that examines why the US has the highest maternal mortality rate among similarly resourced countries and what we can do about it.

In this two-hour continuing education training you will:

🔥 examine what systemic factors in the US enables our current status

🔥 identify specifically why birthing people die

🔥 uncover the role racism, BMI, and neighborhood play

🔥 learn how often these deaths were determined to be preventable

🔥 discover exactly how we can reduce the maternal death in the US, one person at a time

... and we will do that across the complications with the greatest impact including obstetric hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, and sepsis.

This is a training for everyone in the room, from the midwife or physician to nurses to the doula.

We need all hands on deck to address this problem.

The shocking truth is, many of these deaths were preventable.

The solutions are out there.

We know exactly what to do.

So let’s learn the facts and make it happen.

This is one of the many continuing education trainings available through VBAC Facts® professional membership.

Membership enables you to easily integrate the evidence into your practice so you can confidently communicate the facts to your clients and colleagues, increase VBAC access in your community, and improve outcomes for all.

In solidarity,​
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​

Jen Kamel
VBAC Facts® Founder

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PS: We also offer a scholarship program for our course "The Truth About VBAC™ for Families" for BIPOC families.

* "Decoding Maternal Deaths: Why Birthing People Die and How We Can Turn the Tide" has been approved for 2.4 contact hours by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Continuing Education Provider #16238.

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