‘Her Empowered Voice’ stepping up to help
Group aims to give Black women community, resources to help combat infant mortality
When she was about 15 years old, Alexis Brown said a friend had a baby and was excited to become a mother.
But, several days later, Brown said her friend’s baby died.
“She didn’t know why the baby died. She didn’t know how the baby died. She just knew that her child was gone,” Brown said.
Brown, a 22-year- old Bradley University senior, has launched “Her Empowered Voice,” a program to educate and empower Black women on the issue of infant mortality. The program is getting its start in Indiana based on the state’s infant mortality rate and – more specifically – the racial disparities in the infant mortality rates.
Her Empowered Voice is an online platform for women to receive resources before, during and after their pregnancies, as well as a forum for women to ask questions and discuss their pregnancies.
On Tuesday, Her Empowered Voice will hold a virtual event with Lake County obstetricians to discuss racial discrepancies in the health care system, Brown said. Those who would like to register can sign up at https://mailchi.mp/afee55b88021/herempowered-voice.
In October, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that Indiana’s Infant mortality reached a historic low in 2019. But, racial disparities in infant mortality rates tell another story.
In Indiana, Black infant mortality rates double infant mortality rates of other races, according to data from the Indiana Department of Health.
Preliminary data released by the ISDH shows the statewide infant mortality rate fell from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 6.5 in 2019, with the mortality rate among Black babies falling from 13.0 to 11.0, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Between 2013-2017, the Black infant mortality rate averaged 14.6 per 1,000 births, according to ISDH data. The mortality rate among Hispanic infants averaged 7.9 and white infants averaged 6.1, according to IDH data.
Indiana officials have taken steps to lower the rate by l aunching My Healthy Baby, an obstetrician-gynecologist navigator program to educate women and provide resources through the child’s first year, according to ISDH.
The program started in January in 22 counties – including Lake County – “where there is a greater prevalence of risk factors that negatively impact an infant’s health,” according to IDH. The program will expand through 2021, with
the goal of making the program available to all pregnant women insured by Medicaid by 2023, officials said.
After l earning more about Black infant mortality rates in Indiana and about the My Healthy Baby program, Brown said she began working on the Her Empowered Voice program. With the My Healthy Baby program not fully launching until 2023, Brown said she saw a gap in offering women support.
“That means that Black women who are insured by Medicaid and become pregnant between 2020 and 2023 will not be able to receive the benefits of the program,” Brown said. “There needs to be systemic changes and support now, not later.”
The program will focus on building a community of support and resources for
Black women, while also encouraging birth plans, which help women prepare for pregnancy, Brown said. Her hope, Brown said, is that the program reaches college-aged women who could benefit from the resources and community offered before they potentially become pregnant.
Her Empowered Voice started as a senior project toward graduation at Bradley, in Peoria, Illinois, where students had to create a campaign around a social issue “to create a solution around the issue,” Brown said. But, she said she plans to continue and expand the program long after graduation.
The Indiana Parenting Institute, based in Gary, also offers programs, services and resources to parents and families, has an annual program about the infant mortality rate.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, a former board member of the Indiana Parenting Institute, said the group’s work has helped expecting parents with knowledge and resources “to make a healthy transition” to parenthood. Carter said he admired the program Brown is initiating.
“I think it’s fantastic that she has taken the initiative to start this program. Forums such as the one this young lady is starting will help these expecting mothers as they venture further down their path. As the old saying goes: children don’t come with i nstruction manuals,” Carter said.
In naming the program Her Empowered Voice, Brown said the name came to her during research, when she came across the story of a Black woman who lost her first child.
“She wasn’t vocal about how she wanted to be treated in the health care system, which is already a problem in itself you having to tell them how you want to be treated, but she wasn’t vocal about her pregnancy at all. She didn’t advocate for herself,” Brown said.
After hearing that story, Brown said she realized that if there was a community for women to empower each other “to speak up about the issues of racial injustices and disparities in their areas,” it could help solve the problem.
“I want to liberate and empower young Black women on this issue,” Brown said.