Northwestern Medicine hosting annual open house for Black Maternal Health Week
As part of Black Maternal Health Week, Northwestern Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, third annual open house It aims to spread awareness and educate people who are or are planning to become pregnant.
The event will take place Tuesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood and will include presentations, question-and-answer sessions and tours of the labor and delivery room.
Northwestern maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Jacqueline Hairston said this type of event is especially important given the “sharp disparities in outcomes” when it comes to Black maternal health.
according to US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBlack women and babies experience fatal pregnancy complications at higher rates than other racial or ethnic groups in the United States.
Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths than white women. In 2024, the year for which CDC infant mortality data was last published, black babies died before their first birthday at more than twice the rate of white babies.
Before giving birth to her son Ryder at Northwestern in 2024, Daria Siler, who is Black, said she experienced what she called “dismissive” care at another health system during her first pregnancy, which resulted in a miscarriage in the second trimester.
She recalled being told her pain was normal and said her doctors never followed up when they thought they had detected a hematoma during the ultrasound.
“I felt like these kinds of extreme events had to happen before I went looking for help,” Siler, 32, said. “But most of the time, when something feels bad or weird, early intervention and being proactive is where you need to start.”
Siler isn’t the only person in and around Chicago to report receiving subpar pregnancy care.
in November, Video of a woman from Dolton A woman who gave birth in her car after being turned away from an Indiana hospital during labor went viral, drawing national outrage and attention to black maternal health disparities.
Hairston said that as a doctor, many of his black patients share stories of their symptoms being ignored at other health centers. She cited tennis star Serena Williams’ near-death birth experience as an example of how even rich and famous Black women are overlooked when it matters most.
She hopes next week’s public meeting can help draw attention to such disparities and break down some of the stigmas when it comes to high-risk pregnancy. While the event will focus specifically on Black maternal health, it encourages all people to participate, regardless of race or background.
“When you improve outcomes for Black births, you ultimately improve outcomes for everyone,” Hairston said.
