Jerrell’s first baby is born six weeks premature, despite an otherwise typical and healthy pregnancy. At her postpartum appointment, she learns that Black women are 60% more likely to give birth prematurely than white women, and that Black maternal and infant mortality rates are more than double those of white women — regardless of socio-economic status or education. Experts weigh in on why these disparities exist and challenge all of us to ask: what are we doing about it?

“Making a Mother” is a production of Coffee + Crumbs.

Executive Producer, Writer: Ashlee Gadd.

Producer, Writer, Host: Julie Vlahon.

Writer: Sonya Spillmann.

Music, Sound Design, Mix Engineer: Scott Vlahon.

Special thanks to Dr. Lauren Bouchard and Cecily Smith. To learn more about Abide Women’s Health, the Cleveland Clinic or any of the information we shared in today’s episode visit our show notes at coffeeandcrumbs.net/makingamother. If this story impacted you, please consider sharing it with a friend and leaving a 5-star review wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Making a Mother E4: Why Aren’t We Doing Things To Change This?