Summary
A 31-year-old Black woman has died shortly after childbirth at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, in southern California. On the heels of celebrating the birthday of one of the world’s civil rights icons, Martin Luther King Jr., who fought tirelessly for justice for all, we must recognize that the fight included Black women and girls. April Valentine’s death is both a moral and healthcare crisis, reflecting the most inhumane form of injustice that Dr. King addressed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 17, 2023
Black Women for Wellness and Black Women for Wellness Action Project Express Outrage About the Untimely Death of April Valentine
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Los Angeles – A 31-year-old Black woman has died shortly after childbirth at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, in southern California. On the heels of celebrating the birthday of one of the world’s civil rights icons, Martin Luther King Jr., who fought tirelessly for justice for all, we must recognize that the fight included Black women and girls. April Valentine’s death is both a moral and healthcare crisis, reflecting the most inhumane form of injustice that Dr. King addressed. The grave maternal health inequity that plagues Black women and birthing people must be addressed.
Janette Robinson-Flint, Executive Director of Black Women for Wellness, issued the following statement:
“We can not continue to wake up to the news of another senseless death of a Black woman; April Valentine’s death is a tragedy, her new born child, family and our community will experience. It is one experienced too often by far too many Black women and families, one more often preventable with our medical technology if only they would listen to Black women.”
Friends and family say that Valentine complained to hospital staff for hours that she was experiencing numbness in her legs after giving birth. Her complaints were not addressed despite her asking the nursing staff to call a doctor. Where data reveals that approximately 25% of pregnancy related deaths occur on the day of delivery or within seven days after, April Valentine should not have been ignored. She deserved the basic dignity of being heard and cared for.
The CDC has determined that 4 out of 5 pregnancy related deaths are preventable –– that is 80% of all pregnancy related deaths. While the pregnancy related deaths in Los Angeles and California, more broadly have seen a commendable decline in overall pregnancy related deaths over the last few decades, the disheartening fact is that steep disparities persist between Black women and birthing people and their counterparts. Los Angeles county data reveals that giving birth while Black results in an approximately 3-fold increase in the risk of maternal death, a trend that proves consistent with statewide and national trends.
Black Women for Wellness (BWW) and Black Women for Wellness Action Project (BWWAP) have spent years advocating to address and eliminate the Black maternal health inequities gap. Recognizing that racism and implicit bias, which looks like denial and dismissal of Black women’s pain and concerns during childbirth or poor quality care, are root causes of the the disparities that we see, BWW sponsored the Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act, which mandates interventions to address implicit bias among perinatal providers in California.
The senseless, preventable deaths of Black women and birthing people due to pregnancy are devastating to our communities and must end. With innovative laws on the books in California that re-imagine how maternal healthcare is delivered, all of the avenues and interventions at our disposal must be seriously engaged to ensure that Black women and birthing people can have joyous births that result in thriving families.
Hospitals must be accountable for the blatant racism that Black women and birthing people face during childbirth.
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
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Black Women for Wellness (BWW) is a Reproductive Justice community based organization committed to the health and well-being of Black women and girls and works to achieve its mission through health education, advocacy, and empowerment.
Black Women for Wellness Action Project (BWWAP) is the sister organization to Black Women for Wellness. It is the first and only Black Women’s Reproductive Justice organization with a 501(c)(4) designation in the country and our mission is to build the electoral and political power of black women and girls in California through civic engagement, advocacy, leadership development, and the political process.
