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Is COVID-19 making Black birth more complicated? - CBS News
Aug 08, 2020 2 mins, 1 sec
Plans for her sister and husband to attend the delivery, plans for a doula to be with her, plans for how she wanted the birth to go.

"I had the natural concerns as a Black woman," she told CBS News.

But the pandemic disrupted Jackman's plans, just as it has for thousands of pregnant women across the United States?

"Many of the reasons that are cited for the higher Black maternal mortality rate and the higher rate of COVID-19 in the Black community are the same," said Dr.

"In addition, there are concerns about implicit bias and its impact on health care delivery, especially in Black moms.".

Stefani, a 30-year-old from North Carolina who delivered identical twin boys on April 22, said being pregnant during the pandemic felt lonely and confusing at times.

"My husband attended every single appointment with me up until I was about 30 weeks, which is when I was told he could no longer accompany me because of the virus," she said.

Her family is now safely at home together, but Stefani said she's still mourning the delivery and recovery she thought she would have—surrounded by family and support. .

"I worry about my patients all the time," said Dr.

"But it's not the same as actually seeing them in person, because sometimes there's just a feeling about a person as you get to know them," she said.

"We don't know how many are out there who are not coming in, or who are missing appointments because of this," she said.

She knows that patients worry about ever-changing hospital policies, like requiring moms to birth alone or separating moms from their infants.

"Clients are feeling increased stress, isolation, and mourning the delivery they envisioned," Saleemah McNeil, a reproductive psychotherapist and birth doula at the Oshun Family Center in Philadelphia, told CBS News.

McNeil said her practice has received so many inquiries about postpartum mood disorder support during the pandemic that they have hired additional therapists to meet community needs. .

Due to the pandemic, some moms had to give birth without their partner or a support person.

Amelia, a Philadelphia-based educator who asked to only be identified by her first name, told CBS News that OB appointments felt "slightly impersonal," noting that it was difficult to really connect with masked providers.

But they do know that the pandemic has made birth and recovery a scarier, lonelier place for so many families

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