Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Calamity, an Interview about Race and Infant Loss with Emy Collins, Bash's Mom
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Calamity, an Interview about Race and Infant Loss with Emy Collins, Bash's Mom
Today on the podcast, we are going to be talking race, and specifically how race is unfortunately a factor in maternal and fetal health outcomes.
We are joined by Emy Collins, whose child Bash died at 15 days old in 2018 after an extraordinarily medically mismanaged pregnancy, delivery, and NICU stay. If Emy's is one of the only stories you've heard from a Black birthing person in the infant loss space, well, that makes sense, because the voices in this space are overwhelmingly white. You might also be tempted to dismiss her story as anecdotal, but the numbers don't lie.
The national maternal mortality rate in the U.S. – death of a person during their pregnancy or within one year of delivery from causes related to the pregnancy – for white birthing people is 12.7 per 100,000 live births (0.0127%). Black birthing people die at a rate of 40.8 per 100,000 live births (0.0408%). This means a Black pregnant person is 3.2 times more likely to die.
The national infant mortality rate in the U.S. – death of an infant that was born alive before their first birthday – for white babies is 4.6 per 1,000 live births (0.46%). Black babies die at a rate of 10.8 per 1,000 live births (1.08%). This means a Black infant is 2.3x more likely to die.
There are myriad social and economic factors driving these abysmal health outcomes for Black people, but it is crucial to be aware that historic and ongoing racism and discrimination also drive these outcomes.
Emy refers to this as a calamity, and we couldn't agree more.
Every Mother Counts has a great list of additional resources here, and organizations like Black Mamas Matter are working on these issues, but we have a long way to go.
Emy is @theaudacityofloss on Instagram.
:::
Things we talk about in this episode:
- Juneteenth
- TFMR is Baby Loss, an Interview with Hadley's Mom Jill | As Long As I'm Living podcast
- NEC: necrotizing enterocolitis
- Sisters in Loss
- Black Mamas Matter
- Empty Arms
- Emy's (FREE) POC support group through Empty Arms
- Fridamom
:::
As Long As I'm Living is a podcast about life, love, and laughter after infant loss. Judith and Alina are rebuilding Happier Ever After one day at a time despite excruciating grief and trauma and offering support to grievers of all flavors, but especially those who have lost a baby to SIDS, infant death, birth accidents, stillbirth, TFMR, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage.
View all episodes
By Judith and Alina
4.9
2626 ratings
Today on the podcast, we are going to be talking race, and specifically how race is unfortunately a factor in maternal and fetal health outcomes.
We are joined by Emy Collins, whose child Bash died at 15 days old in 2018 after an extraordinarily medically mismanaged pregnancy, delivery, and NICU stay. If Emy's is one of the only stories you've heard from a Black birthing person in the infant loss space, well, that makes sense, because the voices in this space are overwhelmingly white. You might also be tempted to dismiss her story as anecdotal, but the numbers don't lie.
The national maternal mortality rate in the U.S. – death of a person during their pregnancy or within one year of delivery from causes related to the pregnancy – for white birthing people is 12.7 per 100,000 live births (0.0127%). Black birthing people die at a rate of 40.8 per 100,000 live births (0.0408%). This means a Black pregnant person is 3.2 times more likely to die.
The national infant mortality rate in the U.S. – death of an infant that was born alive before their first birthday – for white babies is 4.6 per 1,000 live births (0.46%). Black babies die at a rate of 10.8 per 1,000 live births (1.08%). This means a Black infant is 2.3x more likely to die.
There are myriad social and economic factors driving these abysmal health outcomes for Black people, but it is crucial to be aware that historic and ongoing racism and discrimination also drive these outcomes.
Emy refers to this as a calamity, and we couldn't agree more.
Every Mother Counts has a great list of additional resources here, and organizations like Black Mamas Matter are working on these issues, but we have a long way to go.
Emy is @theaudacityofloss on Instagram.
:::
Things we talk about in this episode:
- Juneteenth
- TFMR is Baby Loss, an Interview with Hadley's Mom Jill | As Long As I'm Living podcast
- NEC: necrotizing enterocolitis
- Sisters in Loss
- Black Mamas Matter
- Empty Arms
- Emy's (FREE) POC support group through Empty Arms
- Fridamom
:::
As Long As I'm Living is a podcast about life, love, and laughter after infant loss. Judith and Alina are rebuilding Happier Ever After one day at a time despite excruciating grief and trauma and offering support to grievers of all flavors, but especially those who have lost a baby to SIDS, infant death, birth accidents, stillbirth, TFMR, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage.