A Black woman passed away last week after giving birth to her daughter at a New York hospital. 26-year-old Sha-Asia Washington passed away on July 3rd after giving birth to her daughter Khole. As of now, it’s not clear what exactly killed Washington, but on the day before she died, she visited the doctor to voice her concerns about her blood pressure.
The next day Washington went into labor, her partner Juwan Lopez said he was told to leave the room, and the next time he saw Washington she was being taken into an operating room for a C-section. Then she reportedly lost consciousness after doctors unsuccessfully tried to save her. “They tried to revive her like 15 times,” Lopez told The Shade Room.
The tragic loss of Washington is a devastating blow for Lopez. “I just want justice. I have to raise a beautiful daughter by myself,” he said.
Unfortunately, Washington’s death isn’t uncommon in New York, where Black mothers are 12 times more likely to pass away while giving birth compared to white and Hispanic women according to the New York City Department of Health.
“Although the causal relationships for the increased risk of death for Black, non-Hispanic women are not well established, pregnancy-related mortality is associated with obesity, underlying chronic illness and poverty — all conditions that disproportionately affect New York City’s Black population,” the NYC health department said. “The chronic stress of racism and social inequality also likely contribute to racial disparities in health.”
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