my name is Brianna green I’m a perinatal
community health worker every day is
the issue at hand with maternal
mortality is primarily the disparity
that exists between black women and
white women in this country and
particularly in DC that disparity is
great
never let us see it again let me see
what cheating game don’t all the way on
top of your head yes I actually am
trained as an attorney I had my first
daughter in law school I ended up having
an unnecessary c-section that was kind
of my first experience with
disappointment in childbirth
I felt devastated because I felt like I
had prepared I had done things that
everything that I needed to do and I
still had that experience taken from me
to have the birth that I wanted a couple
years later my sister got pregnant and
my bone were you the first part I
actually went to other than other than
my own yeah maybe that’s what it is that
was I think the first I guess – was the
first time I actually saw somebody half
a baby that wasn’t me on a table yeah he
was born at home with midwives and a
whole birth team at home I was there
supporting her for her birth and I was
like I want to be a midwife you know not
even a year later I happen to hear about
mom and soso village and I said that’s
what I want to do I want that type of
training well I’m grateful I can be here
today because I have never been able to
so mama Toto was started specifically
for him by women of color with this idea
in mind the doula training was
insufficient in meeting the needs of
women of color more broadly that it
really didn’t speak to anything cultural
we provide comprehensive support for
women prenatally through postpartum okay
so what about the baby baby’s looking
good the women that we serve not only
are they presenting with clinical issues
so physical health issues but they’re
also presenting with social issues which
you know the district is it’s like the
Tale of Two Cities women east of the
river have limited resources they are
more likely to have dropped out of high
school there’s higher rates of single
parenting homes women are more likely to
be on some level of social assistance
the same opportunities just aren’t there
in order for the maternal mortality rate
to start to decrease there has to be a
deep culture shift around how care is
delivered so we’re not just looking at
quality in terms of like did you have a
person who lived you know like did you
have a positive outcome but we’re also
looking at did your patient feel that
they were treated as a human with some
level of dignity and respect I
absolutely feel like the odds are
against women of color when they’re
dealing with maternal health in general
I mean the statistics don’t lie you know
we can look at different factors poverty
homelessness food insecurity things of
that nature but upper middle-class black
women they have the same outcomes as
black women who are in poverty a mom
will go in and say I’m concerned about
this issue and their concerns are
dismissed or diminished and I’ve seen
my name is Fantasia Bremen I’m from
South East and well where I’m from is
Guetta I met her she had a son that was
2 years old
she was pregnant with her second child
it was a girl Oriana throughout that
pregnancy she did express concerns I was
in and out the hospital I was like sick
like dying sick and like they just
ignored me that’s right you know when I
checked in you know they’re like okay go
back home everything is fine and I knew
died deep down in my heart everything
was not fine because my body was just
giving up light and so much friend I was
at my grandma’s house and you know
getting ready for school
I just saw like blood and I knew that
something was wrong and I told my
grandmother and she was like go to the
hospital like now when I got there they
did an ultrasound and they told me that
they didn’t hear a heartbeat the nurse
pretty much told her I’m sorry a baby
has passed away and if I sort of go to
the waiting room and to wait for a
doctor to be able to see her she was in
the waiting room just crying
uncontrollably and no one really did
anything for her she sat there for
several hours I felt depressed I felt so
I felt hopeless it was the day before
Thanksgiving she got there around 10 11
o’clock in the morning and I got a call
from the receptionist and we said we sat
there until 5 o’clock 5:30 pretty much
all the patients have been seen and then
after called her back and they basically
told her okay you can go to labor and
delivery right now and you can deliver
your baby now or you can wait until
after the holiday if you want to have
Thanksgiving and then come back I just
want to do something so tragic and got
bad news you asked me a question like
that it was an old point and me keeping
a deceased baby in me you know and that
was the first time that I really felt
the significance of my role for her
because I could literally feel the
weight of her loss on me I think that’s
probably one of the hardest things I’ve
ever done for anyone and then I also
worked with her during her third
pregnancy and now you know she’s
welcoming a new baby baby Josiah right
around the same time that she was losing
her other baby this time of year for her
I’m sure it’s very difficult well I had
I had plans for Thanksgiving but I went
you know when I look at the teen moms
who are breastfeeding their babies when
I look at the mom who was homeless who
now you know has a security job when I
look at the mom who’s gone through
domestic violence and was able to feel
support to be able to get out of that
abusive environment and to make a better
home for her family and her children
it’s worth me doing going out every day
and trying to make a difference with
even one mom or in my case 50 some-odd
moms a year I genuinely believe that the
outcome for them is going to be
exponentially better because they’ve had
the opportunity of having the support
from me from mama Toto from our village
[Music] you
community health worker every day is
the issue at hand with maternal
mortality is primarily the disparity
that exists between black women and
white women in this country and
particularly in DC that disparity is
great
never let us see it again let me see
what cheating game don’t all the way on
top of your head yes I actually am
trained as an attorney I had my first
daughter in law school I ended up having
an unnecessary c-section that was kind
of my first experience with
disappointment in childbirth
I felt devastated because I felt like I
had prepared I had done things that
everything that I needed to do and I
still had that experience taken from me
to have the birth that I wanted a couple
years later my sister got pregnant and
my bone were you the first part I
actually went to other than other than
my own yeah maybe that’s what it is that
was I think the first I guess – was the
first time I actually saw somebody half
a baby that wasn’t me on a table yeah he
was born at home with midwives and a
whole birth team at home I was there
supporting her for her birth and I was
like I want to be a midwife you know not
even a year later I happen to hear about
mom and soso village and I said that’s
what I want to do I want that type of
training well I’m grateful I can be here
today because I have never been able to
so mama Toto was started specifically
for him by women of color with this idea
in mind the doula training was
insufficient in meeting the needs of
women of color more broadly that it
really didn’t speak to anything cultural
we provide comprehensive support for
women prenatally through postpartum okay
so what about the baby baby’s looking
good the women that we serve not only
are they presenting with clinical issues
so physical health issues but they’re
also presenting with social issues which
you know the district is it’s like the
Tale of Two Cities women east of the
river have limited resources they are
more likely to have dropped out of high
school there’s higher rates of single
parenting homes women are more likely to
be on some level of social assistance
the same opportunities just aren’t there
in order for the maternal mortality rate
to start to decrease there has to be a
deep culture shift around how care is
delivered so we’re not just looking at
quality in terms of like did you have a
person who lived you know like did you
have a positive outcome but we’re also
looking at did your patient feel that
they were treated as a human with some
level of dignity and respect I
absolutely feel like the odds are
against women of color when they’re
dealing with maternal health in general
I mean the statistics don’t lie you know
we can look at different factors poverty
homelessness food insecurity things of
that nature but upper middle-class black
women they have the same outcomes as
black women who are in poverty a mom
will go in and say I’m concerned about
this issue and their concerns are
dismissed or diminished and I’ve seen
my name is Fantasia Bremen I’m from
South East and well where I’m from is
Guetta I met her she had a son that was
2 years old
she was pregnant with her second child
it was a girl Oriana throughout that
pregnancy she did express concerns I was
in and out the hospital I was like sick
like dying sick and like they just
ignored me that’s right you know when I
checked in you know they’re like okay go
back home everything is fine and I knew
died deep down in my heart everything
was not fine because my body was just
giving up light and so much friend I was
at my grandma’s house and you know
getting ready for school
I just saw like blood and I knew that
something was wrong and I told my
grandmother and she was like go to the
hospital like now when I got there they
did an ultrasound and they told me that
they didn’t hear a heartbeat the nurse
pretty much told her I’m sorry a baby
has passed away and if I sort of go to
the waiting room and to wait for a
doctor to be able to see her she was in
the waiting room just crying
uncontrollably and no one really did
anything for her she sat there for
several hours I felt depressed I felt so
I felt hopeless it was the day before
Thanksgiving she got there around 10 11
o’clock in the morning and I got a call
from the receptionist and we said we sat
there until 5 o’clock 5:30 pretty much
all the patients have been seen and then
after called her back and they basically
told her okay you can go to labor and
delivery right now and you can deliver
your baby now or you can wait until
after the holiday if you want to have
Thanksgiving and then come back I just
want to do something so tragic and got
bad news you asked me a question like
that it was an old point and me keeping
a deceased baby in me you know and that
was the first time that I really felt
the significance of my role for her
because I could literally feel the
weight of her loss on me I think that’s
probably one of the hardest things I’ve
ever done for anyone and then I also
worked with her during her third
pregnancy and now you know she’s
welcoming a new baby baby Josiah right
around the same time that she was losing
her other baby this time of year for her
I’m sure it’s very difficult well I had
I had plans for Thanksgiving but I went
you know when I look at the teen moms
who are breastfeeding their babies when
I look at the mom who was homeless who
now you know has a security job when I
look at the mom who’s gone through
domestic violence and was able to feel
support to be able to get out of that
abusive environment and to make a better
home for her family and her children
it’s worth me doing going out every day
and trying to make a difference with
even one mom or in my case 50 some-odd
moms a year I genuinely believe that the
outcome for them is going to be
exponentially better because they’ve had
the opportunity of having the support
from me from mama Toto from our village
[Music] you
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