CHICAGO (WLS) — Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Sadly, more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States are preventable.
Celebrities and state officials like Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton are rallying to raise the alarm about this public health crisis.
The Chicago Chapter Charitable Foundation (CCCF) has selected keynote speaker Tonya Lee Lewis, an award-winning filmmaker, author, and entrepreneur whose work often explores the personal impact of social justice issues. We will be holding the 6th Power & Purpose Luncheon. Co-director and co-producer of AFTERSHOCK (HULU). The documentary explores the maternal mortality crisis in the United States and has won numerous awards, including the 2024 DuPont-Columbia Award, the 2023 Peabody Award, and the 2022 Sundance Special Jury Impact for Change Award. And it was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2023. AFTERSHOCK examines the tragic effects of a medical system that ignores obstetric patients in need of help. From an often overlooked perspective, this documentary follows two families who are left without a mother to raise their children due to preventable birth complications.
Event “Listen!” Let’s meet! “Empower Me: Promoting Black Mother Health: Highlighting the Impact on Chicago’s Black Community” will be held on Tuesday, October 8, at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL, with a VIP reception at 11 a.m. It starts with , followed by a luncheon program and expert panel discussion at noon. Other speakers include Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, and Dr. Joy West.
The goal of this luncheon is to improve Black maternal health, strengthen efforts to raise awareness, and increase access to services and supports with the overarching goal of reducing the impact of To promote, support and provide financial support to community-based organizations working to deliver. This public health crisis impacts the physical and mental health of families and communities.
“Black women have 2.6 times higher maternal mortality rates than white women. We need to make sure that these women are dying at an alarming rate and that there is something we can collectively do to stop that trend. We need to get the broader society to understand,” says Annette Johnson, the women’s chair of this year’s event. “We at CCCF are thrilled to be able to provide impactful grants to organizations dedicated to saving mothers from death during and after childbirth.”
According to the World Health Organization, 287,000 women died during and after childbirth in 2020. Almost 95% of maternal deaths occur in low- and lower- to middle-income countries and communities, and most could have been prevented. In 2022, 817 women died from maternal causes in the United States alone.
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