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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A few tips. 
1. Remember that the stats nytimes etc are old.  Looking from 2011-2014.  Ask your doctor straight up, how many maternal deaths has the hospital had since 2014.  
2009 and 2010 were left out and a large portion of black women died during this time because of h1n1.  Get your flu shot. 
2. Find out if both their L&D and pp units are meeting appropriate staffing guidelines.  You should be 1:1-2 on LD and 1:3-4 on pp. If a nurse had too many patients they can not give you enough attention. Spread too thin. 
3. Learn about preeclampsia and hemorrhage.  Get a bp cuff and learn to use it.  If you are diagnosed with preeclampsia, you should be monitored for 72 hours post delivery. Don’t fight get out sooner.  Make a 1 week bp check if you have elevated bps.
4. Let them put and iv in...so if you start bleeding you can get fluid and blood.
5. Black women are notoriously anemic...ask your doc if you are and what you can do to build up your stores before delivery.
6. Breastfeed right after delivery to prevent pph.  
7. Ask about what the hospital does to ensure you don’t hemorrhage...do they have a obh score, what level trauma center are they? Trauma 1 has the most amount of blood units on hold. 
8. Do they  have a hemorrhage cart, IR available, do they have an icu. 
9. If you have preexisting conditions, diabetes/obesity etc ...get it under control as fast as possible 
10. Doulas are great but they don’t give medical advice 
11. Midwifery is great however they deal with very low risk patients
12. Ask if your doctor is in house 24 hours a day...avoid practices where the doc takes home call.  
13. Get involved- dc govt is creating a peer review board to evaluate every case of maternal death in the district.  Hospitals also have patient counsels if you think there is better way to be heard join the counsel.

Good luck. 
Hope this helps. [/quote]

Great list that shows you can have some agency in the process.
However, the fact that this problem exists is shameful. [/quote]

Great list. I’m a Latina who experienced atypical preeclampsia. I’d recommend also learning about the signs of the atypical presentation since WOC are more
likely to experience it than white women. Also, be on the lookout for preeclampsia AFTER delivery, especially for WOC.

If you have any risk factors for preeclampsia (being a Black woman makes you more at risk), ask your OB about going on baby aspirin, which can reduce likelihood of preeclampsia. Even if you’re borderline in terms of risk factors, the possible benefits of it likely outweigh the risks since it’s so safe. [/quote]

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