Such is civilization: built on the glories of the past, or even on the bones of defeated kingdoms, and even for hundreds and thousands of years in the aftermath of ancient wars and collapsing civilizations, groups of people still suffer. As an example, Rome invaded Britannia – but only half of it, and built Hadrian’s wall, which separated the top from bottom. The society of the bottom changed due to Roman influence, and what followed was a culturally divided group of islands, which, through the millennia, have been embroiled in strife.

In America, we, too, have lambastments and crucifixions of the past that continue to shape the lives of people of the present. There are realities that affect groups today, such as per the CDC’s data from 2023, black women in the United States are 3.5x more likely to die during or around birth compared to white (non-Hispanic) women, whereas Hispanic women are only 1.1x more likely to die during or around the time of giving birth.

In an interview with Daryl Brown, the Director of Programs at “I Be Black Girl,” he proudly spoke of the organization’s roots; born eight or so years ago when Ashlei Spivey (before she was one of our Unicameral Senators) posted on social media about a brunch where the issue of Maternal Mortality among black women could be discussed. “The seats,” Daryl added, “were sold out. They had to move venues.”

As per the CDC’s data, it is true that black infants die twice as often as white infants before the age of one, and this is also a focus of the organization.

“We have a focus on reproductive well-being at IBBG, on economic opportunity and infant health outcomes, and housing.” Mr. Brown said as to their mission, taking special note to talk about how women returning from incarceration had to have housing needs met to even gain back their own children, which was discussed at a housing forum in which, “everyone who had anything to do with housing showed up to.” With more pride evident in his words, Daryl noted how it was folks with experience who led that whole day.

In an attempt to both foster the economic status of low-income women and the Maternal survival rate of black women, IBBG has also trained 78 women so far to be both “doulas” and advocates in healthcare. (For those that were like me and had never heard that term before, a “doula” is a person who is trained to aid women during labor with breathing techniques, positionings, massages, reassurances, and even advocacy. Some doulas also aid after childbirth with feeding, care, and household help.)

A study published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine reported that women who received doula help were four times less likely to have a low-birth-weight baby, twice as likely to experience fewer complications, and “significantly more likely to initiate breastfeeding.”

When speaking to Racquel – a supporter of IBBG since its inception – about doulas, she said, “I know what happens when people don’t have access to education.” IBBG also aids pregnant women in choosing their facility, as well as providing the doulas they have trained (and trained further than normal to help clients navigate the healthcare world) coverage for the medical bills of the first two clients. The organization has also put more than three million dollars of funds raised into the local community through its programs.

Though there are many programs to help people, when interviewing IBBG’s Maternal-Health Initiative Manager, Michelle Coleman, she revealed that only their non-profit received a special grant from the government to pursue their non-typical approach to reducing maternal deaths regarding low-income women.

“The typical approach is data-driven, but that doesn’t always meet the needs of the community.” She added. In a hypothetical: data, rather than community driven information, might tell a bunch of college graduates in a think tank that there is a lake people need to cross in a community, and so they should purchase three expensive motor boats and hand them out – while the community would  , “we need row boats and loading-docks,” With Michelle and the others that were interviewed at IBBG’s Summit, community driven data and experience seemed to be respected and held at the forefront of decisions, thankfully.

She added, then almost wistfully, “Nebraska is the 5th-worst state for maternal care. Births shouldn’t be traumatic; you should have the support you need.”

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.