Allysin Felix came close to losing her baby as well as her own life during her pregnancy in 2019.
One of her 4 teammates also died while pregnant and another came close. All were Black.
Felix is the most decorated athlete in track and field history, having won 31 medals during her illustrious career. One could argue that she's in excellent health.
But a CDC investigation from 2 years ago revealed that Black women were almost 3 times more likely to lose their lives at some point during their pregnancies than White women....
....AND that 80% of those deaths were preventable!!!
Felix had no idea what the risks were before she began suffering from preeclampsia, a condition that could easily have been discovered and treated early on. She simply wasn't told.
So when some people argue that institutional racism is no longer an issue here in this country, just ask the survivors of those women of color who died because the medical system failed to appropriately monitor their health prior to giving birth.
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