Free events focus on Black maternal health in Southwest Ohio

The CDC reported in 2022 in Ohio, the maternal mortality rate was 29.5 deaths per 100,000 live births.

More than 900 infants died in 2022 in Ohio, and while most were White, the rate of deaths of Black babies were 2.4 times higher than White babies, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.

The Booker T. Washington Center on South Front Street in Hamilton will host a birthing educational event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday that Ebony Brock, the center’s executive director, called “a love letter to Black women.”

“It’s literally a celebration of Black women in general, whether you have given birth biologically or if you’re a mother-figure,” she said of the event. “We just want to celebrate the women that do the heavy lifting of the work in Black maternal health, and mothers and Black women in general.”

Registration is required for the event. Participants will have experiences like candle-making and artistic crafts, including painting on canvases or creating customized trucker hats.

“I wanted to create an environment to basically come and be, and have a good time,” Brock said, adding that every vendor used is a Black woman-owned business either from Butler County or the Cincinnati region “so we’re putting the money back into the hands of Black women.”

The Black Maternal Health Month in southwest Ohio is led by bi3, a philanthropic initiative launched by Bethesda in 2010, and has highlighted a number of awareness events at bi3.org. And the awareness is needed because the rate of Black women and infants dying over any other ethnicity is high.

Back at the BTW Center on South Front Street on Saturday, the YWCA Hamilton and Booker T. Washington will present a Black Maternal Health Week Community Event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration is needed for the free event and can be done at www.surveymonkey.com/r/BMHweek to ensure appropriate seating and catering are provided.

Wendy Waters-Connell, the executive director at the Hamilton YWCA, said, “We sit in a place where we know that Black women and black infants die at twice the rates of other minorities, and we need to reduce that. Part of our goal is to reduce women and infant mortality in that minority group.”

Lyn Garr, the YWCA Hamilton’s director of Empowerment and Advocacy Program, said everyone is invited whether they are a mother or not “to celebrate women in the Black community and to raise awareness about infant mortality and Black maternal health mortality.”

The community event will be “a welcoming environment,” Garr said, as the keynote speaker will be Middletown Health Commissioner Jackie Phillips Carter, and four breakout session discussions, including on teen moms, family and relationships, staying connected to the community, and an in-depth discussion on Black maternal health.

“We are all responsible for one another as a community,” Garr said. “Obviously, we have our nieces and cousins and aunts and people in our family that are out here having babies, so we need to be out there asking them about their experiences because some of them may not feel empowered to speak up.”

In Middletown, Atrium Medical Center’s Maternal Health Clinic will host the second annual Community Baby Shower from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Rosa Parks Elementary School, 1210 S. Verity Parkway. The free event will offer community resources, maternal health education, and celebration.

“Our goal is to ensure every mother has the support, resources, and knowledge needed for a healthy pregnancy and a great start for their baby,” said Dr. Rhonda Washington, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Hilltop Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Mothers in attendance will enjoy a traditional baby shower experience, complete with a photo booth, lunch, and baby gifts, generously donated by community members and sponsors. Throughout the event, raffle drawings will be held for larger prizes. The event will also provide community resources, including access to affordable diapers, breastfeeding consultations, and connections to maternal health services.

The Community Baby Shower is open to all expecting mothers and new mothers with infants under the age of 1. To streamline the experience and reduce wait times, participants are encouraged to RSVP and select a designated time slot between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. While walk-ins are welcome, however, pre-registered attendees will receive priority admission.

For more information and to RSVP, visit AMCBabyShower.GiveSmart.com.