Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix called attention to the Black maternal mortality rate following the death of teammate Tori Bowie. In May, Bowie died after suffering complications related to childbirth.
"The medical community must do its part," Felix wrote in an essay published by Time on June 15. "There are so many stories of women dying who haven’t been heard. Doctors really need to hear the pain of Black women."
On May 2, 2023, Bowie was found dead inside a Florida home.
According to an autopsy report from Florida's Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office that was obtained by NBC News, Bowie died while an estimated eight months pregnant with a “well developed fetus.” The report estimated that Bowie had been “undergoing labor (crowning)” when she died.
According to NBC News, the autopsy report included respiratory distress and eclampsia as possible complications. According to Cleveland Clinic, eclampsia is when a pregnant person with preeclampsia — a blood pressure condition during pregnancy— develops seizures.
In her Time essay, Felix shared her preeclampsia diagnosis while pregnant with her daughter Camryn in 2018. As previously reported by TODAY.com, Felix had an emergency C-section while 32-weeks pregnant and Camryn was born premature.
"I was unsure if I was going to make it," wrote Felix. "If I was ever going to hold my precious daughter."
She added, "Like so many Black women, I was unaware of the risks I faced while pregnant. According to the CDC, in 2021 the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 2.6 times the rate for white women. About five days before I gave birth to Camryn, I was having Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I mentioned that my feet were swollen. As we went around the table, the women shared their experiences during pregnancy. My cousin said she also had swollen feet. My mom didn’t. Not once did someone say, ‘Oh, well, that’s one of the indicators of preeclampsia.’ None of us knew. When I became pregnant, my doctor didn’t sit me down and tell me, ‘These are things that you should look for in your pregnancy, because you are at a greater risk to experience these complications.'"
In her essay, Felix mentioned tennis star Serena Williams who, after delivering her daughter Olympia via emergency C-section in 2017, suffered a pulmonary embolism.
Felix also referred to Beyonce, who experienced preeclampsia while pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir. "I hate that it takes Tori’s situation to put this back on the map and to get people to pay attention to it," wrote Felix. "But oftentimes, we need that wake-up call."
Felix said she would love to have another child.
"That’s something that I know for sure," she wrote. "But will I be here to raise that child? That’s a very real concern. And that’s a terrifying thing. This is America, in 2023, and Black women are dying while giving birth. It’s absurd."
"I’m hopeful that things can get better," Felix added. "I’m hopeful that Tori, who stood on the podium at Rio, gold around her neck and sweetness in her soul, won’t die in vain."
