Tuesday , April 30 2024

To Prevent Preterm Births, New Program Helps Black Women Be Their Own Advocates

In Fresno County, around 10 percent of all babies are born before 37 weeks of gestation. That’s higher than the national average, and among the highest of all California counties. For African-Americans, the numbers are even more concerning: From 2013 to 2015, black babies were 63 percent more likely to be born premature than white babies. But a new program in Fresno is trying to bring those numbers down by teaching women not just about health, but also about leadership and advocacy. Andrea Avila still bears the scars of a medical emergency she experienced three decades ago. She was seven months pregnant with her first child when she says she felt an unusual pain. She remembers trying to tell her doctor something felt wrong. “I was trying to call him and tell him and he said ‘no, I already saw you for the day, I refuse to see you,’” she recalls. “I went right on to the hospital and from there they were like, ‘you are so lucky that you came in.’” Her blood pressure shot up. Her life was
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