Community calls for postpartum care changes after mother dies weeks after giving birth
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- An emotional and heartbreaking vigil was held for a 30-year-old woman who died from a pulmonary embolism two weeks after giving birth, a life-threatening medical emergency that is the third-leading cause of death among Black women before and after pregnancy.
Dreeah Austin, a 30-year-old Black mother from Newark, New Jersey, died suddenly this summer just a couple of weeks after giving birth at St. Barnabas Hospital.
Austin headed out for a routine errand with her nephew on July 21. Shortly after starting her car, Austin had a seizure and lost consciousness. She never regained consciousness, and was taken to a local hospital, where, after two days, her family was informed that she had no brain activity and would not regain function. Her family then made the decision to discontinue care, and Austin passed away.
Now a newborn baby is without her mother.
"I could be the best father. I could be the greatest dad in the world, but I can't be her mom," said father Saladeen Merritt.
Merritt says his partner Austin, was an amazing mom to her newborn and 10-year-old daughters.
She had a blood clot from her first pregnancy, something that should have been more closely monitored.
"She should have been started on the right medicine," said Dr. Nastassia Harris of Perinatal Health Equity Initiative. "She should have been followed up closer after the delivery. There are likely a lot of things that could have been done differently."
The 30-year-old died when that blood clot went to her lung.
On Thursday night, a vigil was held outside Newark City Hall. Austin's family and advocates called for policy changes in postpartum care and better education for healthcare providers about the risks women of color face.
The Perinatal Health Equity Initiative says in New Jersey, nine out of 10 maternal deaths are considered preventable, and more than half happen postpartum, like what happened to Austin.
Earlier this month at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, a woman became the third to die suddenly after giving birth there in four years.
In New York State, pregnancy-related deaths are five times higher among Black women than white women. In New Jersey, it's seven times higher.
"This broken system. How they treat our people. Because my lady is just another name on the list that's going to keep going and going and going If we don't do something," Merritt said. "So, I just want Dreeah's name to be the last name possible."
Advocates say it's been left up to hospitals and health care system to make changes, but it keeps happening. It may be time for legislative action.
"If we could structure a system where we have standardized care, we would have much better outcomes," Harris said.
"I refuse to just let Dreeah be another statistic," Merritt said.
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