Image: Patrick Smith for Getty Images.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Olympic track star Tori Bowie passed away from complications with childbirth. Bowie, 32, was found deceased and alone in her home on May 2, 2023, after a wellness check was issued. It was determined that she was eight months pregnant at the time, and unfortunately had succumbed to issues from early labor.
As news broke, Bowie’s fellow 2016 US Olympic 4×1 relay teammate Tianna Madison spoke out saying, “Three of the four of us who ran on the second fastest 4×100 meter relay team of all time, the 2016 Olympic champions, have nearly died or died in childbirth.” The piercing but necessary statement has now re-sparked the conversation around Black maternal health and the alarming statistics surrounding Black women’s mortality during labor.
The maternal death rate among Black Americans is much higher than other racial groups, NPR reported in March. In 2021, it was 69.9 per 100,000, which is 2.6 times higher than the rate for White women.
According to the autopsy, though it was cited that the champion sprinter died of natural causes, it was also reported that respiratory distress and eclampsia were contributing factors. Eclampsia, like preeclampsia, is a disorder related to high blood pressure during pregnancy. The dangers of the two conditions are well-documented, even if their precise causes aren’t yet known.
“Preeclampsia is a sudden spike in blood pressure,” according to the National Institutes of Health. “Eclampsia is more severe and can include seizures or coma.”
Allyson Felix, another 4×1 relay teammate of Tori Bowie, underwent an emergency C-section because of severe pre-eclampsia during the birth of her daughter.
“We are Olympic champions,” Felix wrote in an Instagram post. “Two of us experienced near-death complications. One of us died. We have to, and we will do more. Tori’s death cannot and will not be in vain.”
Because of the issues and disadvantages that Black women face in labor and delivery, many birthing people are now seeking doula services to assist them through their entire pregnancy journey. Singer Erykah Badu, Mama Glow founder Latham Thomas and thousands of other Black birthing service workers have been vocal about the work that they do to ensure that little Black babies enter this world at an advantage, because the odds can often be against them and their mothers from the womb.