Black maternal health support is ongoing focus at Blue KC
Twenty-two years ago, Bridget Locke gave birth to baby Zoë at a Kansas City hospital. Zoë was healthy, and Bridget’s pregnancy and delivery were uncomplicated. Her postpartum experience was not.
Five days postpartum Bridget developed a debilitating headache and swelling of her lower limbs. She drove herself to a local ER expecting to be back home that evening with her family. Instead, she was admitted to the hospital where she remained for the next week.
It was a week fraught with lack of clarity about what was happening to her, unexplained scans and meds, a doctor who wanted to medicate her anxiety rather than acknowledge her legitimate emotions, and a nurse who reprimanded Bridget for asking to bathe. She felt unseen as a person, and worse, like she didn’t have a say in her healthcare.
“I was sad and emotional because my whole life was at home with my new baby, my husband and my 1-year-old. I was scared about what was happening to me and afraid I wouldn’t make it out of the hospital,” said Bridget. “The doctor wanted to medicate away my anxiety rather than hearing and acknowledging my fears. I didn’t feel like I had a voice.”
Bridget agreed to share her story because she believes women of color should be empowered to advocate for themselves, especially in healthcare situations. As director of strategic communications at Swope Health, she has the privilege to do that every day. Baby Zoë is now 22 and working toward a career in dentistry. She interned at Swope Health in 2023 and plans to attend dental school next year. She aspires to one day work in community health and carry on the tradition of helping women advocate for themselves.
Bridget’s is a story of black maternal health equity, advocating for yourself, understanding potential complications, and knowing what to look for during pregnancy. While her story was set 22 years ago, the reality is that little has changed for women of color.
Blue KC and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) are hard at work to change that.
Blue KC’s suite of maternal health equity programs and support for local maternal health equity organizations is helping get the job done in Kansas City. See our efforts at the end of this story.
BCBSA is working at the national level to help move the needle. It’s June 2024 Health of America report, “Improving postpartum maternal health outcomes” explains.
BCBSA findings
Preeclampsia, which Bridget suffered, is one of about 20 conditions classified as severe maternal morbidity (SMM) events. SMM events are dangerous and often cause new moms to return to the hospital.
In its Health of America report, BCBSA says six SMM events – acute renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, acute heart failure, thrombotic embolism, and eclampsia – account for three quarters of all SMM events1. And the prevalence of these six events is higher for Black patients compared to white patients.
- SMM events are 87% higher among Black patients in the commercially insured population1.
- Black patients are hospitalized 71% more frequently than white patients in the commercially insured population1.
The solutions
BCBSA believes everyone should have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. It advocates for the following actions to advance Black maternal health equity.
- Improve access and affordability of care through doula and midwifery care, multi-payer models for maternal healthcare, and systems of regionalized maternal care.
- Address and mitigate the impacts of social determinants of health – such as access to transportation, housing, and food – that may affect access to healthcare services.
- Build an equitable healthcare workforce by expanding and diversifying the perinatal healthcare workforce to improve access to care for Black patients.
- Standardize data, which is foundational to understanding maternal health disparities and measuring progress in eliminating them.
“Taking Action to Improve Maternal Health Equity” takes a deeper look at these actions.
Blue KC supports Black maternal health in Kansas City
Blue KC has been an active participant in supporting Black maternal health in the Kansas City area through the following.
- Community Baby showers – Blue KC sponsors the Black Health Care Coalition Community Baby Showers, which include prenatal and postpartum maternal healthcare and education, child healthcare support, as well as games, photos, food, and gifts.
- Supportive Pregnancy Care program – Through a partnership between March of Dimes and Blue KC, this program offers group prenatal care to foster equity in birth outcomes. It is offered at Swope Health Services and Saint Luke’s Hospital Medical Education OBGYN Clinic.
- CPR training, including infant CPR, in partnership with the Black Health Care Coalition. The next training will be September 21.
- Determinants of health and demographic surveys – Blue KC member participation in these surveys helps us develop health equity programming and services. Our Community Health Playbook has everything employers need to get involved.
- Implicit bias training for healthcare providers – Blue KC sponsored four trainings sessions in the past 12 months to raise awareness and stimulate action to address implicit bias.
- $50,000 grant in 2022 to support doula research by Angela Martin, MD, OBGYN.
- $20,000 donation to Uzazi Village in 2022 to support its mission to decrease maternal and infant health inequity among Black and Brown communities
- $20,000 donation to Promise 1000 in 2022 to support its mission to connect families experiencing low income and other stressors to agencies with in-home training to optimize the first 1,000 days of life.
Get involved
You, too, can play a part in educating about and supporting Black maternal health. Get started by reading the full BCBSA “Improving postpartum maternal health outcomes” report, sharing the resources above as appropriate, and visiting Improving Health & Well-Being to see other ways Blue KC is having an impact in Kansas City.
1BCBSA Health of America report, Improving postpartum maternal health outcomes
