Black History Month should be a time of celebrating African American achievements, but there’s something alarming we should also be aware of. Black babies are dying at a rate of almost four times the rate of White babies. A big reason is the higher amounts of stress that African American women have to deal with.

Last fall, I participated in a campaign called Journey of a Lifetime. I volunteered on the campaign because late in my pregnancy, I was told stress was having a negative impact on my unborn baby. As a result, my daughter was born too soon. And most devastating of all, I was told that because I had already had one premature birth, I was at greater risk for this to happen to me again.

While working on Journey of a Lifetime, I learned that high levels of stress puts pregnant women at risk of having a premature baby or a child that is considered low birth weight. I also found out that because more African American women suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, the stress we endure puts our babies at a higher risk of not making it to their first birthday.

So as we celebrate the contributions of African Americans, here’s something important we can DO. If you want to get pregnant, are pregnant, or have just delivered a baby be aware of the impact that stress has on an unborn baby and on our bodies. Our bodies are our babies’ home so it’s important that we take better care of ourselves.

Every pregnant woman should go see a health provider to make sure your baby’s development is normal and to make sure you are healthy enough to carry a baby the full nine months even before you get pregnant. Text4baby is a new program I learned about recently and it provides me with advice weekly on my cell phone (text BABY to 511411) on how to care for my body and my newborn baby. The tools provided by Journey of a Lifetime and text4baby can improve your child’s chances of making it to his or her first birthday.

Andrain Horton
Community Advisory Board Member
Journey of a Lifetime
6123 West Locust Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53210

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