Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
The United States is the only industrialized nation with rising maternal mortality rates and for African American women the rate jumps to 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than non-Hispanic whites regardless of socioeconomic status. It’s alarming to know that infants born to African-American mothers are dying at twice the rate as infants born to non-Hispanic and white mothers, and the shocker is that 60% of maternal related deaths are preventable.
This year there is a health fair attached to the 5K on Saturday, October 23, 2021 in the University Research Park located at 10101 David Taylor Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28262 beginning at 8 am to support Jace’s Journey. When you see someone wearing the official colors of baby blue and pink ribbons, you know that they have a story to tell. The creator of this event, Tomeka Isaac lost her baby Jace and soon after founded Jace’s Journey to bring awareness to these disparities and to create programs focused on education, advocacy and community engagement. When donating to the non-profit, proceeds will go to established initiatives that provide doula support service, doula scholarships for training, a community baby shower, community maternal and infant health forums, and developing an app which will educate and empower mothers to become a proactive and engaged participant in their prenatal and postpartum care.
