Olympic track athlete Allyson Felix is fighting to improve health outcomes for Black mothers, and Melinda French Gates is backing her up.
Melinda French Gates donated $20 million to Felix as a part of a $1 billion commitment to uplift communities in need per The New York Times.
“In nearly 20 years as an advocate for women and girls, I have learned that there will always be people who say it’s not the right time to talk about gender equality,” Gates wrote in a letter that appeared in the New York Times. “Not if you want to be relevant. Not if you want to be effective with world leaders (most of them men). The second the global agenda gets crowded, women and girls fall off.”
She continue “In the United States, maternal mortality rates continue to be unconscionable, with Black and Native American mothers at highest risk. Women in 14 states have lost the right to terminate a pregnancy under almost any circumstances. We remain the only advanced economy without any form of national paid family leave. And the number of teenage girls experiencing suicidal thoughts and persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness is at a decade high.”
Felix, a mother herself and fierce advocate of maternal mortality awareness, previously partnered with Pampers in June 2022 to amplify Black maternal health. The brand pledged $250,000 to the cause and provided $100,000 to the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC).
In a open letter that appeared in Time, Felix addressed her own experience with birth complications.
“Like so many Black women, I was unaware of the risks I faced while pregnant,” Felix wrote. “According to the CDC, in 2021 the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 2.6 times the rate for white women. About five days before I gave birth to Camryn, I was having Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I mentioned that my feet were swollen. As we went around the table, the women shared their experiences during pregnancy. My cousin said she also had swollen feet. My mom didn’t. Not once did someone say, ‘oh, well, that’s one of the indicators of preeclampsia.’ None of us knew. When I became pregnant, my doctor didn’t sit me down and tell me, ‘these are things that you should look for in your pregnancy, because you are at a greater risk to experience these complications.’”
She adds: “I would love to have another child. That’s something that I know for sure. But will I be here to raise that child? That’s a very real concern. And that’s a terrifying thing. This is America, in 2023, and Black women are dying while giving birth. It’s absurd.”
