Is Starbucks’ ‘pink drink’ good for breastfeeding moms? Lactation specialists fight this and other breastmilk myths with facts
Is Starbucks’ ‘pink drink’ good for breastfeeding moms? Lactation specialists fight this and other breastmilk myths with facts
CLEVELAND, Ohio — From the time a woman announces her pregnancy, she’s bombarded with advice about breastfeeding. Most of it is a load of hooey.
Tik Tok will tell her to slurp the “pink drink” at Starbucks and eat lactation cookies to make breastfeeding easier. Others will tell her not to bother, since she’s returning to work right after the birth, and it will just ruin her figure.
Confusing messages about who can breastfeed, why nipples hurt, what to consume and whether to give up prescription medications are why so many women give up and go straight to formula, said Dr. Carly Dulabon, director of the division of breastfeeding medicine at Akron Children’s Hospital.
“They hear so much that they chose not to even try, or stop early because of fear and anxiety regarding it,” Dulabon said.
Yet some women may be unable to breastfeed, or may choose not to, and that’s OK, Dulabon said. “The most important thing is that a family receives the support that they need and deserve for whatever choice is best for their family,” she said.
Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most babies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Breast milk shares antibodies from the mother with her baby, protecting infants from illness and strengthening their immune system. Breastfed babies have a lower risk of asthma, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and sudden infant death syndrome, the CDC said.
Breastfeeding also lowers the risk of infant mortality.
A 2023 study, conducted in collaboration with the CDC, suggests that breastfeeding may reduce a baby’s risk of dying in their first year of life by about 33%.
Despite the benefits, a federal 2022 Breastfeeding Report Card showed that while 83% of American infants started life with breast milk, by the time they were 6 months old, the rate dropped to 25%.
Overall, breastfeeding rates increased from 2007 to 2022, the report card said.
Rates of breastfeeding among Black women are often lower compared to other racial groups in the United State, which ties into higher rates of infant mortality, health experts say.
“This disparity is influenced by systemic issues, including lack of access to culturally sensitive lactation support, fewer breastfeeding role models, and workplace barriers,” said Jazmin Long, CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities, a nonprofit that provides doulas to support pregnant women who are at high risk for infant mortality.
Misinformation claiming that breastfeeding isn’t part of Black culture persists, Long said.
“During slavery, Black women were often forced to wet-nurse the children of enslavers, leading to generational trauma around breastfeeding,” Long said. “However, many Black women today are reclaiming breastfeeding as a natural and empowering act.”
Quashing myths
Because of the benefit of breastfeeding for women and children, Long and other area lactation specialists quash myths with facts.
“The No. 1 myth I hear all the time — and it just gets passed down from generation to generation — is that a breastfeeding mom shouldn’t eat foods that make people gassy, like broccoli, cauliflower or spicy foods, because those foods can affect the baby,” Dulabon said.
“There has been more research that has disproven some of these things,” Dulabon said.
And despite what the mommy blogs say, the “pink drink” from Starbucks -- a high-calorie smoothie that supposedly increases a mom’s milk production -- is no magic elixir
“I’m sure it’s delicious, but not something that you want to be doing every single day, if there’s no real benefit,” Dulabon said.
Here are some other common myths about breastfeeding, and what the science says. Mary Ann Blatz, lactation consultant at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Long, Dulabon, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Breastfeeding Support and the CDC provided information.
Myth: Small-breasted women can’t successfully breastfeed.
Fact: Breast size has nothing to do with lactation.
Myth: Breastfeeding ruins your body.
Fact: While breastfeeding can temporarily alter breast size or firmness, it doesn’t permanently “ruin” a woman’s breasts, and is linked to health benefits for the mother.
Myth: Formula is just as good as breast milk.
Fact: Everything a baby needs is in breast milk. “That’s how the human species survived and thrived for thousands of years; formula is a relatively new thing to the human evolution,” UH’s Blatz said.
Breast milk has more vitamins and components than formula, Blatz said.
“Formula companies are always working to isolate what’s in breast milk so that they can add to their formula, but they’re not quite there yet,” Blatz said.
Myth: Breastfeeding is only for women who can afford to stay home.
Fact: Working while breastfeeding is challenging, but not impossible. Federal laws like the Affordable Care Act require employers to provide break time and private spaces for breastfeeding, Long said. Lactation consultants can also help mothers find ways to manage breastfeeding while working.
Myth: Breastfeeding isn’t necessary for large, healthy babies.
Fact: A baby’s size doesn’t correlate with the need for breast milk. Breast milk provides essential nutrients and immune support for babies of all sizes.
Myth: Over-the-counter lactation supplements — cookies, pills and teas— really work.
Fact: Most women don’t need them, and they are not beneficial.
Myth: Something’s wrong if a lactating woman isn’t producing large amounts of breast milk like Tik Tok influencers do.
Fact: “These days, lots of moms think they have low supply, when, in fact, their supply is normal,” Dulabon said. “They’re just so used to seeing lots of videos on social media of women who have oversupply.”
While some women naturally have a robust milk supply, social media influencers who brag about having a large milk supply probably are pumping so much that they are creating an oversupply. Dulabon said. Over-pumping is associated with a higher risk of breast infection, inflammation and pain.
Normal milk supply is about one ounce per hour.
Myth: Yeast in beer increases breast milk supply.
Fact: If a mom notices an increase in her supply after drinking beer, it’s probably just from the increased calories, and not due to anything in the beer.
A glass of wine, beer or mixed drink per day is safe for lactating women and babies.
Myth: Moms of premature babies, or infants that are hospitalized, can’t breastfeed.
Fact: After 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, a woman can start to make milk. Premature infants who need help breathing, or can’t be put to the breast, can drink pumped breast milk.
“Your milk is like medicine for that baby,” UH’s Blatz said.
Myth: Breastfeeding is painful.
Fact: Soreness is common, especially at the beginning of breastfeeding. Painful nipples can happen when the baby is in the wrong position, or has a tongue tie that prevents the infant from getting an open, deep latch, Akron Children’s Dulabon said.
If the discomfort is still happening by the time mom and baby leave the hospital, or the pain is so bad that mom doesn’t want to feed the baby, she should be seen by a lactation provider.
Myth: Lactating mothers should “pump and dump,” which means pumping and discarding breast milk, if they are taking medication.
Fact: Most over-the-counter and prescription medications are considered safe during breastfeeding. They don’t enter breast milk and affect the baby. This includes antidepression medications, Dulabon said.
In order for a substance to get into breast milk, it has to be small enough to be transported from the woman’s bloodstream into the breast’s milk-making tissue, Dulabon said. Large molecules, such as most drugs, can’t pass into breast milk.
“Whenever a mom is told that she should pump and dump, it’s always worth thinking, is that actually the case?” Dulabon said. “It’s pretty rare that a mom truly needs to pump and dump her milk. So if you’re ever told by a healthcare provider to pump and dump for however long, I would definitely get more information.”
How the body produces breast milk
Milk production occurs within the alveoli, grape-like clusters of cells within the breast. Milk is squeezed out through the alveoli into the milk ducts, which carry the milk through the breast.
When a woman becomes pregnant, her milk ducts start expanding. This is why sore breasts is an early sign of pregnancy, Dulabon said.
Expectant women start making colostrum, an early type of breast milk that is high in antibodies, at around 14 to 16 weeks of pregnancy.
After an infant and placenta are delivered, the body receives starts producing breast milk. This happens between three to seven days after delivery.
The body adjusts milk production to the baby’s demand, Dulabon said. Every time a baby nurses, or every time a mom pumps and removes milk from the breast, hormones signal the breasts to make more milk.
Where to learn more
Birthing Beautiful Communities: This community of doulas provides social support to high-risk pregnant women.
Project Milk Mission: Nonprofit that is working to increase breastfeeding rates and achieve better maternal health outcomes.
First Droplets: This website promotes effective breastfeeding in the first five days after birth.
Kellymom.com: This website provides evidence-based information on breastfeeding and parenting.
LactMed: This database contains information on drugs and possible adverse effects for nursing infant. All data are derived from the scientific literature and fully referenced.
Akron Children’s Hospital: The hospital’s breastfeeding medicine team is dedicated to helping mothers navigate challenges while breastfeeding.
Ohio Health Mothers’ Milk Bank: This agency collects and distributes donated breast milk. Here is a previous story about the milk bank’s work.
Howard University Hosts Panel to Address Black Maternal Health Crisis
Howard University Hosts Panel to Address Black Maternal Health Crisis
In partnership with Walmart and the PNC National Center for Entrepreneurship, Howard University hosted a Maternal Health Panel at the University’s College of Medicine.
The panel coincided with the Congressional Black Caucus’ 53rd legislative session as congressional affiliates drafted and advocated for bills to address the Black maternal crisis. Black women are currently dying at three times the rate of white women during childbirth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 80% of those deaths are preventable.
Connecting Black Maternal Advocates
Before the panel, Jazmin Long, CEO and founder of Birthing Beautiful Communities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Que English, director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), spoke about their efforts to minimize Black maternal mortality rates.
Long emphasized her services being provided at no costs for all Black women, highlighting the importance of “paying it forward” for generations of Black children to come.
“We train a workforce of doulas...outside of the 70 that we have working for us, there are 200 more that do not work for our organization who choose to become entrepreneurs and practice doula services in their own businesses,” Long said. “Many of them are not doing this for money. Many of them are doing it because they understand the importance of a mom to have social support and labor and delivery support during birth and labor.”
English spoke to some of her center’s initiatives, including a 25-city tour to encourage practices that eliminate the racial and ethnic disparities of Black women’s mortality rates. Community connections, English said, is the defining factor on discovering solutions to diminishing Black women’s mortality birthing rate.
“At every leg of the tour, we introduce them to a village that many don’t even know exist for them around mental health services, health care coverage, lactation, breastfeeding support, resources for babies and for dads and doula and delivery services,” English said.
A Panel of Black Maternal Advocates
Shari Lawson, MD, MBA, served as panel moderator. Lawson is chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology in Howard University’s College of Medicine. “Black maternal health is something that is my passion,” Lawson said. “When I first learned about infant mortality, I was just completely struck by the idea that Black babes in America, one of the foremost countries in the world, really have such a terrible survival rate.”
The featured panelists were 4Kira4Moms founder Charles Johnson, National Action Network (NAN) health equity director and program policy liaison Alicia Butler, and comedian and alumna Angelina Spicer (BFA ’03).
Johnson started 4Kira4Moms after his wife Kira died in 2016 after giving birth to their second son Langston. A CT scan was requested but never conducted, and Kira did not receive care for more than 10 hours. She died with more than three liters of blood in her chest.
“I was transparent about the fact that when I walked into that hospital, I never thought that my wife would not out to raise her sons,” Johnson said. “It never crossed my mind.”
Since Kira’s death, Johnson has advocated for maternal health policies and called for investigations into hospital protocols when listening to the concerns of Black mothers and their families.
“I began to hear other stories from families whose mothers had made that ultimate sacrifice trying to give the gift of life,” Johnson said. “I’m making a deliberate call to action that we need to have a goal as a country of zero preventable deaths from pregnancy and pregnancy-related symptoms in the next five years.”
The community approach will take care of our everyday needs”
Spicer’s journey into Black maternal health advocacy began with her own motherhood experience. After birthing her daughter, Spicer recalled moments where her emotional, mental, and physical state were unrecognizable, causing her postpartum anxiety and depression.
“I felt unprepared, unqualified, overwhelmed,” Spicer said. “The weight of responsibility of being a mom really hit me hard after I had my baby.”
Spicer would subsequently undergo a 10-day inpatient psychiatric stay to regulate her symptoms. She discusses that experience, and the realities of motherhood, in comedy clubs and more casual spaces to bring the messaging around Black maternal mortality rates to listeners’ front door. Spicer also embarked on a multi-city tour she titled “The Postpartum Revolution,” traveling in a pink bus emblazoned with its eye-catching name.
Labeling herself an “accidental activist,” Spicer said that her “Spicey Moms” brand allows her to fuse the funny with the misfortunate.
“It’s important to me that moms know what motherhood truly looks like,” Spicer said. “Finding that balance is always tricky. Most times, we’re talking about things that are most times shameful.”
Butler was disheartened by the apathy she discovered around Black maternal health and has spent much of her time at NAN developing solutions to such a glaring issue.
“Once I got into the maternal health space, I was mortified to find out that Black women are dying, and nobody cares,” Butler said. “I was able to build out different partnerships...and I realized we needed to approach this from a reproductive justice lens because civil rights organizations acknowledge that race is a factor in all of these implicit biases.”
Local Nonprofits Receive $2 Million To Boost Equitable Access To Care - Three Arches Foundation Announces 2024 Grants
Local Nonprofits Receive $2 Million To Boost Equitable Access To Care - Three Arches Foundation Announces 2024 Grants
Three Arches Foundation, a community-focused grant making foundation, announced $2 million in funding toward grants to twenty-two local nonprofit organizations working to address barriers to health care. Each grant reflects the Foundation’s priority focus on equitable access to behavioral and physical health care faced by communities and populations most impacted by health disparities.
This year’s grants address a diversity of needs accomplished through the expansion of existing programs and services, funding of new initiatives, and support of general operations. “These grants reflect a multitude of approaches that strengthen important systems of support in our communities in order to meet the respective needs of those who often face challenges in accessing essential health care,” shared Kristin Broadbent, president and CEO of the Foundation. “From partnering with organizations that embrace a culturally centered care approach to funding programs that utilize trauma-informed care to promote healing, to supporting preventive and wrap-around behavioral health services, this work is designed to boost health equity.”
“We’re proud to support our 2024 grant recipients who recognize and understand barriers to access that make managing care difficult for individuals and families impacted by health disparities,” comments Gina Gavlak, board chair of the Foundation. “Together, these investments help fill gaps that exist within the health care landscape.”
In addition to this year’s recipients, four nonprofit partners will begin year two of their multi-year grant awarded last year. These include Colors+, In Harmony Therapeutic Services, LifeAct, and Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center. The Foundation also contributed to and continues its participation in the Greater Cleveland Funder’s Collaborative.
Highlights of 2024 grants approved by the Foundation’s board of directors include:
B. Riley Sober House - $61,250 for the addition of a part-time psychiatrist and full-time Licensed Independent Social Worker to the staff which represent a new component in providing onsite comprehensive mental health counseling, improved substance use disorder counseling, and integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders.
Bellefaire JCB - $228,647 to sustain access to vital behavioral health consultation and critical trauma-informed prevention services for students, families, and staff in seven Lakewood City Schools through Bellefaire’s School-Based Counseling program.
Birthing Beautiful Communities - $25,000 to provide Perinatal Support Doulas at no cost to predominately Black expectant and new mothers in TAF’s geographic focus to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and postpartum experience.
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center - $80,000 to fund the Access to Care program that provides support and information to survivors of rape, sexual abuse, and human trafficking through the crisis hotline and during face-to-face hospital interactions, with the majority of those visits occurring within TAF’s geographic area.
Eliza Jennings Home - $150,000 - unrestricted funding to overcome current barriers to long-term care, enhance essential services, and increase its skilled workforce to ensure medically and economically fragile adults on the west side of Cleveland have access to the high-quality, compassionate care they need. With a shared interest in supporting cognitive function in older adults, this grant is funded through the generosity of Three Arches Foundation’s Harold C. Schott Foundation Endowment Fund.
GiGi’s Playhouse Cleveland - $60,055 to sustain and enhance the Amina Grace Speech & Language research-driven program that provides individuals with Down syndrome who are predisposed to low muscle tone and cognitive delays with expanded opportunities to evolve and refine their speech and language skills.
Hispanic UMADAOP - $30,000 renewed operating support of culturally sensitive holistic prevention education, harm reduction, client-centered treatment, and re-entry programs.
Journey Center for Safety and Healing - $75,000 toward Journey’s Trauma Services program tailored to meet the unique needs of individuals from Lakewood and surrounding communities with a history of trauma caused by exposure to domestic violence and/or child abuse.
May Dugan Center - $81,728 continued support of May Dugan Center’s Trauma-Informed Music Therapy program that provides all individuals, regardless of insurance status or inability to pay, with comprehensive culturally competent mental health treatment through funding of an in-house music therapist.
Neighborhood Family Practice - $120,000 operating support of NFP’s work to remove barriers that hinder access to primary care, behavioral health, midwifery, dental, HIV, and pharmacy initiatives for historically marginalized populations.
OhioGuidestone - $112,577 renewed funding to provide extensive mental health wraparound services for students, families, and staff at four elementary schools in the Lakewood City School District.
Partnership for Good Health - $50,000 for a Certified Community Health Worker who helps newcomer clients gain equitable access to health care by carrying out navigation, coordination, and health education activities with a shared common language and cultural understanding.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio - $81,000 to maintain stable and affordable access to all FDA-approved forms of contraception and birth control services for patients with low incomes who benefit from this care at the Rocky River health center.
Recovery Resources - $120,000 unrestricted funding to support work that breaks down barriers for people struggling with mental health and substance use disorder through a community-based approach focused on all aspects of health which is vital to managing and sustaining recovery.
Renee Jones Empowerment Center - $124,200 (over two years) continued investment for the work of a nurse, vital to the delivery of free, basic screening and needs assessment for individuals and families in underserved and high-risk neighborhoods at the medical clinic and during street outreach.
Re:Source Cleveland - $84,240 to proactively support the mental and physical health of newcomer youth and their families by providing access to individualized and wrap-around services that are culturally and linguistically familiar, appropriate, and sensitive through the ongoing work of the Healthy Pathway’s coach and addition of youth specialists.
Signature Health - $71,000 to continue patient navigation and transportation services for high-risk patients in Lakewood and surrounding communities.
Smart Development - $60,000 to help refugees and immigrants understand and navigate the local health care system by bridging cultural and linguistic gaps through the work of a health and wellness team comprised of a social worker, case manager, and community navigator.
Spanish American Committee - $50,000 to support the Spanish American Committee's Licensed Independent Social Worker and Licensed Social Worker who provide counseling and case management services to the Latino/Hispanic Community as part of the Families First program.
The Centers - $120,000 operating funds to support The Centers’ integrated approach to providing services in a way that addresses foundational health and wellness needs and connects individuals and families to a full continuum of offerings.
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation - $120,000 to extend equitable access to care for Lakewood adolescents with funding for well-established youth mental health navigator services, ongoing psychological research support, and the addition of a psychiatric nurse to assist with services and help pilot chemical dependency and eating disorder support coordination that addresses an unmet need within the student population.
Urban Community School - $75,000 continued support for the Director of Mental Health and Counseling Services position who is vital in the guidance and operations of the school’s unique medical model of mental health counseling services, as well as the addition of two innovative school-based mental health technologies to enhance the comprehensive support system.
For additional details about these grants, please visit www.threearchesfoundation.org/grants-awarded
About Three Arches Foundation (TAF) – Three Arches Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that invests in advancing the health and well-being of the people of Lakewood and surrounding communities through grant making. By connecting people, ideas and resources, the Three Arches Foundation fosters a collaborative approach towards investing in organizations whose work directly addresses the continuum of physical and behavioral health issues. For more information, visit threearchesfoundation.org.
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MetroHealth launches midwife program to reduce infant mortality rates
The MetroHealth System launched a midwifery program this month in an effort to drive down infant mortality rates in Northeast Ohio.
Amy Lowell, who joined MetroHealth in late June as director of the new midwifery program, said the first priority for the new program is a focus on the communities that have been hardest hit by infant mortality.
"Right now, we are going to be located primarily at Cleveland Heights and Brooklyn," she said. "And the decision for that was based on zip codes with the worst outcomes."
According to Case Western Reserve University, the infant mortality rate for Black babies in Cleveland is more than double the rate for white babies, with 15.4 deaths per 1,000 live births for Black infants versus 6.9 deaths per 1,000 for white infants. In Cuyahoga County, the rate is 13 deaths for every 1,000 births for Black infants versus four deaths for every 1,000 births for white infants.
Jazmin Long, CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the infant and maternal mortality rate in Cleveland, agreed that providing this service to disadvantaged communities is necessary and equitable.
"I just think that this speaks to the understanding that it doesn't matter what our current population is, they deserve respect, they deserve to have dignity in their birth and they deserve to have quality care for them," Long said.
MetroHealth is providing labor support by using doulas from Birthing Beautiful Communities. Doulas are birthing professionals who provide information and counseling during pregnancy, comfort during labor and assistance with breastfeeding and newborn care.
Both midwives and doulas play critical roles in the delivery process, Long noted.
"Us doulas, we are labor and delivery support coaches," she said. "We offer the social support and they [midwives] offer the clinical support. Both are needed to really ensure that our families here in Northeast Ohio have what they need to have great birth outcomes and great experiences in their labor and delivery at the hospital."
Lowell noted that MetroHealth is adding five midwives to its program, which will improve access to care.
"That's going to mean that patients can get in earlier," she said, adding that earlier care can head off potential complications and relay important information to help expectant mothers make good decisions for their sake and their child. "Our job is to give you the information, to make the best choices for you."
Part of this work is countering misinformation, such as the assumption that there's no need to be screened for diabetes just because a patient's mother did not have diabetes, or the assumption that an epidural will not work or could cause paralysis, Lowell added.
"A lot of women come in with really false information that they've either gotten from family members who have good intentions or the internet," she said. "It's our job to dispel the myths so they can get their facts right, so that they can make the decision to keep themselves healthy and the baby healthy."
The program is also meant to engage more with expectant mothers to ensure they have more of a say in decisions regarding their child's birth, Lowell added.
"I would like our patients to know, besides getting solid care, that the relationship that we're looking to build with them is that they're an active participant in their health care and that they'll be listened to," she said. "Obviously, the end result we all want is a healthy, full-term baby, healthy mom. Getting there looks differently for each family, so I want them to know that they will be active participants in the care."
Lowell said her plans are to expand the program to add additional midwives over the next two years.
Kindland: Protection, care for Black infants, mothers drive two of Cleveland’s most passionate advocates
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kindness comes in many forms. It doesn’t come as early (or as often) as it should for many. Yet, protection and care for the community’s most vulnerable is perhaps the greatest kindness of all.
Two Black women are doing all in their power to create change in the community for Black infants and their mothers, with the aim of giving them the best possible shot at surviving and thriving.
If you’ve spent any time reading this column over the last year, you know that helping the most vulnerable of us survive and thrive is perhaps the biggest kindness of all.
A Cleveland State University interdisciplinary research initiative called Survive and Thrive has been partnering with Birthing Beautiful Communities, a local nonprofit founded in 2014 for the express purpose of reducing Black infant and maternal deaths. Their initiatives are changing and saving lives.
In Ohio, Black women are more than five times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than the state average, according to a recent JAMA study.
In 2020, nearly 75% of the babies in Cleveland who died before they turned one were Black. Tasked to reduce infant and maternal mortality, the partnership was awarded grant funding from the Ohio Third Frontier (via the Ohio Department of Higher Education, ODHE) a few years ago to help the partnership in the development of a mobile app called “Thrive.” Heather Rice, Ph.D., assistant professor at Cleveland State University’s School of Nursing (housed in CSU’s College of Health), served as principal investigator for the Survive and Thrive team. Her work has been integral in keeping the funding and stabilization of the team’s collective efforts level.
App information includes “everything from a breastfeeding tool, kick counter, developmental milestones tracker, vital signs tracker and support ticket that allows mothers to request assistance with transportation and support services.”
New additions will focus on stress reduction, mindfulness and breathing strategies.
The app was developed in concert with Ohio tech company Big Kitty Labs, with a range of resources from workforce development training and job placement services, to “emotional support opportunities” for both mothers and fathers.
The Thrive app scores and synthesizes risks by category, creating an intuitively based, individual “perinatal pathway” for parents to follow.
“With my background as a pediatric nurse practitioner, I am passionate about how research can impact the work being done around infant and maternal mortality,” Rice said in an interview in 2021.
Being able to coalesce social and clinical data with the team and Birthing Beautiful Communities to uplift and support mothers and families has been a personal mission for her.
Mission Possible: Future birthing center run by Black women for Black women
African American babies in Greater Cleveland are dying at significantly higher rates than the national average. A local organization wants to change those numbers.
CLEVELAND — The numbers are alarming.
“Infant mortality is a major issue here in Northeast Ohio, with Black babies dying in some communities up to seven times the rate of white babies,” stated Jazmin Long, President and CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities.
A condition known as toxic stress is to blame, according to the non-profit BBC. The organization provides support to pregnant women at greatest risk of infant mortality. Toxic stress, they say, is the result of systemic racism and Black women’s voices not being heard in doctors’ offices. That's why the BBC is there to help.
“Empowering clients and their families to feel as though they have, the option, they have choices that they can really, take their own medical care in their own hands,” Long said.
BBC trains doulas, a person to give emotional support advocate for the mother throughout the birthing journey. Transportation and other assistance are also available.
“Anything that can cause a mom stress. We want to be here to provide that support and help to alleviate that,” said Chantel Tolbert, Chief Advancement Officer for Birthing Beautiful Communities.
800 families are helped each year. But the BBC wants to do more. This fall, they hope to break ground on Cleveland's only freestanding birth center.
“This is going to be a facility where we're able to have all of our classes, all of our doula trainings, and we will actually have clients giving birth because it's going to be a birth center on the first floor,” explained Long.
“We'll also have space for nutrition classes, postpartum rooms, and exercise room. So that will serve as a space for our moms to come in, our doulas to come in and be able to just enjoy,” added Tolbert.
The location at East 65th Street and Chester Avenue serves a purpose. The Hough neighborhood is where the BBC got its start, as a pilot program. And the $15 million project will add to MidTown's revival.
“Hough has been, has dealt with a lot of infant mortality in that community, and that's the reason why we were founded in that very community,” said Tolbert. “And so we want to come back and be of service and support to those women.”
“This space is going to be a beacon of hope for the community just because of how beautiful it is,” remarked Long.
Ohio law allows hospital births or home births with a midwife present. The new center will give families another choice.
“We're very intentional about what this space looks like and how we want people to feel when they enter this space,” said Tolbert. “And so we think people will be excited for this. This is something that is for Black women by Black women.”
The City of Cleveland is supporting the project with $1 million.
“So those are the dollars, the catalytic dollars to help us get started so that we can go out and show like, this is successful,” said Long “This is something that the community believes in.”
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott also awarded the organization a $2 million grant.
“And that is just such a blessing,” Long said. “And so we are hoping to use the additional million to further our organization’s endowment.”
Combined, the support is building a legacy, for the health of future generations. And for families whose voices are part of their own birthing experience.
“These are Black women who could be my mother, sisters, cousins who I want to insure, able to safely have a child, to be protected, to be valued, to feel empowered,” said Long.
The birthing center will also house Birthing Beautiful Communities offices and community space. And while it is run by Black women for Black women, any women in need of their services are welcome.
WKYC Mission Possible | Jeff Reidel
A number of factors cause moms to die in labor. Ohio reps hope a wide-reaching bill can help
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Ohio’s rate of 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 births is slightly higher than the national average, according to KFF. And it’s an issue disproportionately impacting Black women across the state. Black women in Ohio are more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, according to a 2020 report from the Ohio Department of Health.
Five Ohio representatives and one senator have signed onto a federal package of legislation that hopes to curb these pregnancy-related deaths, called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. It’s a package of 13 bills that invests in everything from nutrition programs to maternal vaccination promotion to maternal mental health initiatives.
U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, co-introduced the bill last year. Speaking on the House floor last month, Sykes lamented Ohio’s high maternal mortality rates.
“Motherhood should be one of the greatest, most joyful times of their lives,” Sykes said. “But for far too many Black women in Ohio’s 13th Congressional district and across the country, this experience is often overshadowed by trauma, heartache and loss.”
Social determinants of health
Much of this legislation within the package aims to tackle social determinants of health, or the external factors that contribute to maternal mortality.
The Social Determinants for Moms Act would create a fund to address housing, transportation and nutrition needs. Another measure would expand the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) eligibility for new moms. Yet another would expand data collection and research around the causes of maternal mortality.
“We still see maternal mortality at such a high rate, many of them due to ineffective levels of care, toxic stress caused by racism,” Jazmin Long, president and CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities, said. “There are so many factors that really lead into these poor birth outcomes and poor maternal fatalities that we see.”
Long’s nonprofit advocates for positive birth outcomes in northeast Ohio. She said many maternal deaths are avoidable . Among the pregnancy-related deaths occurring from 2012 to 2016 in Ohio, more than half were thought to be preventable, according to a report from the Ohio Department of Health.
Maternal care workforce in Ohio
Another part of the legislation will address the perinatal workforce, or maternal health care providers across the country. Across Ohio, Long said there’s a shortage of Black maternal health providers who can provide culturally congruent care.
“COVID really has decimated a lot of the workforce. And so some of the doctors and nurses who had consistently been in our hospitals retired or found other places to work because they got so burned out,” Long said.
In addition to OB-GYN doctors and nurses, Long said there needs to be an effort to train more Black midwives, doulas, lactation specialists.
Thirteen of Ohio’s 88 counties are considered maternity care deserts, according to the latest March of Dimes report and many of the state’s rural maternity wards have shuttered in the last decade.
A long road to passage
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act has been reintroduced for years, and has not garnered bipartisan support in the legislature. Although federal progress has been slow-moving, Long said there’s still work to be done on the state level to improve maternal mortality rates.
Ohio has recently invested in maternal and infant health. In March, Gov. Mike Dewine announced $5 million in funding for community organizations that support pregnant women. And the state recently approved Medicaid coverage for doulas.
But, Long said policies need to extend beyond health and address economic status in order to move the needle.
“We can look at things like universal basic income. We can look at things such as guaranteed income they're working on here in Cleveland, policies that would really … help to lift folks out of poverty,” Long said.
The Ohio Newsroom | Kendall Crawford
Fighting fibroids: U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown kicks off crusade with personal tale
WASHINGTON, D. C. - U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown says that developing uterine fibroids “was like having an uninvited guest take over your body, month after month, for years,” creating painful, unpredictable menstrual messes that took such a mental toll that she finally resorted to getting a hysterectomy.
The Warrensville Heights Democrat on Thursday brought her battle against the common medical condition to Congress, introducing legislation she’s dubbed the U-FIGHT Act: The Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health and Treatment Act.
It would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to increase early detection of and intervention for uterine fibroids, education and awareness programs, and research. The grants would also address another uterine condition called Asherman’s syndrome, uterine scar tissue build-up following surgery, as well as disparities in pain control and management as it relates to uterine fibroids.
Medical experts estimates that 40% to 80% of women develop non-cancerous uterine tumors known as fibroids. Sometimes, they don’t cause difficulties. In other cases, the pain, and heavy, irregular bleeding they cause are disruptive. They’re most common in Black women, who tend to develop them at younger ages and be more likely to need medical treatment. Doctors don’t know their cause or why they’re more prevalent in Black women.
Brown said that Black women are three times more likely to be hospitalized for fibroids than white women, and three times more likely to need a hysterectomy. Despite the prevalence of fibroids, Brown says there’s no comprehensive federal program to address them. She said her bill would encourage early detection, treatment, education and research.
“A lot of women, a lot of Black women, when there is so much pain, they think that this is just part of being a woman, a normal part of your period,” Brown said at a Capitol Hill press conference. “Too many women delay medical care or are denied full treatment and care because they don’t know that the symptoms they’re suffering through aren’t normal.”
Brown’s legislation has 50 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, all Democrats. She says she’s working on bringing Republicans on board and getting similar legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate.
It is endorsed by organizations that include The White Dress Project, The Fibroid Foundation, Black Health Matters, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Birthing Beautiful Communities, The Center for Black Health & Equity, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, and MetroHealth.
“Lack of research in the evaluation and treatment of fibroids and their much higher rates in black women reflects a significant disparity in our current health care system and we’re hopeful that this legislation will improve the health of women in Northeast Ohio and all across the country,” Elyse Mulligan, University Hospitals’ manager of public policy and community health engagement, said at the press conference.
Cleveland Clinic Chief of Staff Beri Ridgeway issued a statement that described providing education, research, and access to screening for uterine fibroids as “important to improving the quality of care for the millions of women affected by them.
“We look forward to working with Congresswoman Brown to advance legislation that would expand access to early screenings and detection methods for uterine fibrosis, a debilitating condition that impacts millions of women, especially women of color,” agreed a statement from MetroHealth President & CEO Airica Steed. “Together, we can create a healthier community for every woman.”
Brown acknowledged passing her bill might be an uphill battle. She noted that her long-ago congressional predecessor Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who represented the same congressional district from 1999 to 2008, first introduced a separate bill called the Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act in 2001.
More than 20 years later, other members of Congress are still introducing the same bill to support National Institutes of Health research into uterine fibroids, in hopes it will eventually pass. These days, the bill is called the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act.
“Let’s help women learn the facts,” said Brown. “Let’s expand access. Let’s study the problem. And let’s solve the problem.”
Cleveland.com | Sabrina Eaton
Black women are at greater risk of dying from pregnancy and childbirth. These grants aim to change that
Columbus, Ohio (April 15, 2024) This April 11 through 17 marks the seventh annual observance of Black Maternal Health Week in the U.S. I don’t say “celebration” because the facts, unfortunately, are dire: Not only do Black women in America continue to be much more likely than women overall to die of pregnancy-related causes, but maternal mortality has actually grown much worse in the past quarter century. A study published in the journal JAMA last year found that maternal mortality — which the study defines as death during pregnancy or up to a year afterward — more than doubled between 1999 and 2019.
While the burden was borne by women of all racial and ethnic groups, there were disparities. Black women, in particular, had higher rates of maternal mortality than other races.
The rate at which Black women die during and after pregnancy calls for urgent action. That’s why I’m proud that the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is stepping up with $5.6 million in active grants in Ohio to improve pregnancy outcomes for Black women and address disparities that disproportionately impact Black women and their families.
Most recently, we awarded grants totaling $1.5 million to five organizations: two in Cleveland, one in Columbus, one in Cincinnati and one in Kent. These are community-based groups that have demonstrated the ability to make a difference in this critical challenge to the well-being of women of color and their families. Here’s a quick sketch of the grants and how they’ll be used:
- Spirit of Motherhood, Kent State University (three-year, $300,000): Working with community-based groups in Cleveland, Canton and Akron, the program uses cognitive-behavior interventions to reduce stress and trauma in pregnant mothers with post-traumatic stress disorder, which Black mothers are four times as likely to experience as non-Black mothers. The grant will help pay for more interventionists, allowing the program to serve 20 additional mothers and up to 40 of their preschool-aged children.
- Birthing Beautiful Communities, Cleveland (two-year, $500,000): The group’s Perinatal Support Program provides professional doulas to help mothers and their families through pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The doulas offer emotional support as well as physical and educational help, including lactation support, parenting workshops, healthy eating, life planning and more.
- The Centers, Cleveland (two-year, $250,000): Cuyahoga County has one of the nation’s highest rates of poverty and among the worst birth outcomes in the nation. The grant will bolster the organization’s comprehensive health and wellness services with additional supports to foster improved outcomes for mothers and babies.
- Homes for Families (formerly Homeless Families Foundation), Columbus (three-year, $300,000): The grant will create a Pregnancy Program Emergency Fund to provide services that aren’t typically funded by housing grants, such as access to food, transportation and child care.
- Every Child Succeeds, Cincinnati (three-year, $150,000): According to the March of Dimes, Cincinnati’s rate of preterm births, at 12%, is higher than that of Ohio and the nation, both at 10%. Every Child Succeeds provides evidence-based home visits to support maternal health equity and optimize child development from the prenatal stage to age three.
It should be clear from these programs that a newborn’s well-being is profoundly linked to that of its mother. The grants recognize that it’s extremely difficult for either to thrive amid the stress associated with poverty, housing insecurity, trauma from physical or sexual assault, and systemic racism.
While it’s unclear exactly why America has higher maternal mortality rates than other wealthy countries in spite of the fact that we spend far more on healthcare, research and experience tell us that inequities in the healthcare system lie at the root. We’re taking aim at those inequities, working to remove the barriers that Black women face and raise awareness of the need for change.
Every woman deserves the opportunity to experience pregnancy and childbirth as the joyful experiences they’re meant to be. No one should be afraid because her race or ethnicity stacks the cards against her and her baby. We at Anthem are excited to help these community partners make a vital and necessary difference.
Ohio Association of Health Plans | Dr. Bradley Jackson, Plan Performance Medical Director at Anthem BCBS Ohio Medicaid
Black babies, moms need more support in the first year of life: Jazmin Long
Cleveland, Ohio (April 14, 2024) For decades, babies born in Cuyahoga County have been dying at some of the highest rates in the country. This is especially true for Black babies, who are three times more likely than white babies to die before they turn a year old.
Healthy babies start with healthy moms, and there is a substantial body of research showing that, in Ohio and across the United States, we are failing to give those moms — especially Black moms —even the most basic of care.
Our current system is not working. Maternal mortality rates have more than doubled in the last 20 years, a recent study showed. Women in the U.S. are about 10 times more likely to die during childbirth or in the 42 days following childbirth than women in other high-income countries, including Australia, Japan and Spain — and the rates disproportionately affect Black women, who in the U.S. are three to four times more likely than white women to die during or shortly after childbirth. In Ohio, the rates are even worse: Black women here are more than five times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as compared with women from other states. In 2020 in Cleveland — the epicenter of our county — nearly 75% of the babies who died before they turned one were Black.
The most maddening thing, to me, is that these deaths are preventable.
Complications develop during pregnancy or following childbirth and go ignored or undiagnosed because we don’t provide moms with enough support while they are pregnant and in the immediate weeks, months and year following birth.
We have to do more to help moms, babies and families, not just in Northeast Ohio, but across our state and country. Black Maternal Health Week runs from April 11 to 17 and is an important time to have this conversation.
We should start with increasing and improving access to health care. We need better interventions to address pregnancy-related complications, from cardiovascular disease to postpartum depression to infection. And we must focus on dismantling implicit bias, racism and classism in our health care system, and on truly listening to women about their experiences.
Our organization, Birthing Beautiful Communities, is committed to providing intensive peer-to-peer support to families throughout pregnancy, during labor and birth, and up to a babies’ first year.
This fall, we are breaking ground on a new birthing center on Chester Avenue, supported by gifts from The Cleveland Foundation, George Gund Foundation and city of Cleveland.
The U.S. has less than 400 birthing centers, and only a small handful of those — about 5% — represent people of color. Once complete, ours will be the only Black-led center in Ohio.
Our birthing center will be staffed by midwives, providing holistic, wellness care and support to moms, babies and families. That includes perinatal support, that critical time immediately after birth and in the first year of a baby’s life. Our dedicated Perinatal Support Program, developed with a gift from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, seeks to provide critical support. We believe that support is the first step to reducing infant and maternal mortality.
That is something each and every one of us should care about advancing, because while an infant’s death can shatter a family, it also harms our communities.
Infant and maternal mortality are barometers for a community’s overall health. And by this barometer, our region, state and country are failing.
This Black Maternal Health Week, I challenge all of us to learn more about the inequities in our health system, and about how to support all families—especially Black families—through pregnancy, childbirth and an infant’s first year of life. Healthy mothers, babies and families are the foundation of a thriving Cleveland. We must reduce Black infant and maternal mortality, so our city and community can truly soar.
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