When the news hit this spring that the first genetically modified pig kidney was successfully transplanted into a 62-year-old Black man in Massachusetts, medical and health communities celebrated. It lifted hopes about saving lives amid donation shortages — and opened a door of hope for reducing the health disparities that persist within organ failures and […]
Health
Posted inClimate Change, Extreme Weather, Health, Maternal Health, Partner Content
‘How Did We Miss This for So Long?’: The Link Between Extreme Heat and Preterm Birth
This story was originally published by Grist. This story is part of the series “Expecting Worse: Giving Birth on a Planet in Crisis,” a collaboration between Grist, Vox, and The 19th that investigates how climate change impacts reproductive health — from menstruation to conception to birth. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. When Rupa Basu was […]
Posted inMaternal Health
Black Artists Respond to Increased Restrictions on Reproductive Rights
It took years for Beverly McIver to come back to the photo she snapped at the North Carolina Museum of Art. A woman had walked by completely naked, coated with black paint and outlines of flowers down her body. She was blending into the painting behind her. McIver, stunned in that moment, didn’t know that […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
There’s a Renewed Push in Congress for Medicaid to Cover Doulas and Midwives
Originally published by The 19th Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
The Maternal Mortality Rate Dipped For Black Women. The Reason Is Complicated.
After a sharp rise in the number of women dying in childbirth, which was likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new data shows that the mortality rate is returning to pre-coronavirus levels and the racial disparities in who’s most likely to die remain. The rate for 2022 was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, a […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
What Florida’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Signals to the Rest of Us
Abortion attacks aren’t slowing down as Florida’s six-week ban goes into effect and Arizona’s Supreme Court recently paved the way to reinforce a Civil War-era law that criminalizes nearly all abortions. The consequences could be catastrophic for Black reproductive health, exacerbating existing disparities in access to care and alarming rates of maternal mortality, advocates and […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy
Black Families Left at Risk as U.S. Delays Menthol Cigarette Ban
When the Biden administration quietly let its deadline to approve a ban on menthol cigarettes pass earlier this year, advocates condemned the lack of action, urging public health officials to move forward on a decision that could save up to 654,000 lives over the next 40 years. But on Friday, the administration officially delayed the […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Health, Partner Content
More Than a Third of All Americans Live in Communities with ‘Hazardous’ Air
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. Within 5 miles of Kim Gaddy’s home in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey, lies the nation’s third-busiest shipping port, 13th-busiest airport, and roughly a half dozen major roadways. All told, transportation experts say, the area where Gaddy and her neighbors live sees an average […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Reproductive Health
What Comes Next in the Battle for Emergency Abortion Care Access
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the media flooded with cases of women who had been denied abortion care during emergency situations, putting their lives at risk. Whether pregnant patients have the constitutional right to abortion care when their health is severely at risk is at the heart of Idaho […]
Posted inMental Health, Policing
So Many Are Searching for This Missing Black Woman — But Not Chicago Police
Capital B is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to uncovering important stories — like this one — about how Black people experience America today. But we can’t publish pieces like this without your help. If you support our mission, please consider becoming a member by making a tax-deductible donation. Donate today. On the morning of April […]