Understand
Akron challenges & creative solutions
IN THIS SECTION: AKRON’S BLACK BABIES DIE BEFORE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAYS AT THREE TIMES THE RATE OF WHITE BABIES. WHY? LET’S DIG IN.
Photo: Mariah Hunt, 24, with her husband and their kids: Makavelli, 7 months, and Makayla, 3. Details of Mariah’s story appear on page 19. (Photo: Ilenia Pezzaniti.)
“Trying to be a mom is hard” LAST MONTH, SUMMIT COUNTY RECEIVED $2.5 MILLION IN STATE AID TO FIGHT AFRICAN-AMERICAN INFANT MORTALITY. HERE’S WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST — ACCORDING TO PARENTS, COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS AND DOCTORS. WORDS BY NOOR HINDI · PHOTOS BY ILENIA PEZZANITI
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atrina Davis delivered her baby boy, D’Angelo, at 25 weeks. She says the doctors called him a micro-preemie because he was born weighing just 2 pounds, 3 ounces. At the time, Katrina had to go into emergency labor because she developed preeclampsia, a condition where pregnant women get high blood pressure and a high level of protein in their urine, causing their hands, feet and legs to swell. If untreated, it can lead to death for the mother and the baby.
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When Katrina went to the hospital, she says she could barely walk, and her face was so swollen she couldn’t see. Her blood pressure was a dangerously high 186/142. Though she successfully delivered her son, he couldn’t leave the hospital for months and had to constantly be monitored by doctors. “He couldn’t even fit in preemie-sized clothes,” she says. “He had a sized diaper that could fit on a Barbie. He was so small — but he learned how to become stronger.”
Now D’Angelo is 2 years old. Katrina says he’s healthy, and “jumping off steps and running away and is the definition of a ‘terrible two.’” Before delivering D’Angelo, Katrina was under a lot of stress. Her husband was cheating on her. She was the sole caretaker for her other two kids, ages 10 and 6, and working two jobs. She says she was extremely overwhelmed and often felt guilty for not spending enough time with her children.
December 2019 · vol 5 · issue #12
“I was going through so much and my body couldn’t take it,” she says. “The thing is, you don’t even feel the stress until it hits your body physically. I knew it was there. I knew he was cheating. I knew the kids had to get to school. I knew I had to do everything for the kids. And work two jobs.” She remembers her 6-year-old son coming up to her one day and telling her she wasn’t spending enough time with him. This hurt her tremendously.
The Devil Strip
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