Black Maternal Health Week + Birthdays + Gratitude

It’s been a minute. Like, did April just start? How is it almost over already? When I tell you these last few months have been a whirlwind of a rollercoaster of emotions, I can barely put it into words.

But when I think about the complete goodness and mercy that God has shown over my life, I have no choice but to smile. I have no choice but to express joy and gratitude for all that I have. And for all that is yet to come.

Birthdays

April is my birthday month. Today I enter my last year in my 30’s. What I realize is that time waits for no one. And I am committed now more than ever to spend more time taking life in, and the people I love in it. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated. So no matter what’s done, I make it a point to enjoy it.

Olivia made me a surprise pocketbook for my birthday in my favorite color.

Gratitude

Anyone who knows me knows that I love birthdays and I love surprising other people. I also love surprises. So when my daughter, Olivia, surprised me with a special pocketbook she made (in my favorite color) for my birthday, I could hardly hold back tears. She had been working on this surprise for a couple of weeks and was just as excited to give it to me as I was to receive it.

celebrating black maternal health

We talk to our kids all of the time about gratitude. It’s something money can’t buy. And the bible says: when you can be thankful with little things, you will be blessed with greater/bigger things.

The older I get, the more I find to be grateful for. Even being able to sit here and write this post is a blessing.

Black Maternal Health Week

A few days ago, I was cruising around the gram, and started to see a bunch of stories pop up. These stories were of black women sharing the disturbing facts around #BlackMaternalHealth. I never knew about these stats, and if I had, I don’t know I would have 3 beautiful kids now.

Even as scary as possible death might sound, I just had to share these stats on my birthday. It’s not something we, in these United States of America, should even have to be concerned with.

 

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As I enter into a new year of life, I am reminded of God’s grace and mercy over me. I am beyond blessed and excited for all that my new year will bring 🎉🙌🏿 . . 💜B I R T H D A Y G R A T I T U D E💜 After reading up and following posts under #BlackMaternalHealthWeek, I can only be that much more grateful that after three kids, I’m here to celebrate another birthday. I can only be grateful that I had black doctors throughout all three of my pregnancies and that they took the very best care of me. . . .

 

I didn’t know then, what I know now. But clearly God knew. I had no idea that black moms were dying at a rate of nearly 4x than that of white moms during childbirth. And I can only hope and pray that should my daughters choose to have kids later in life, that this will no longer be a statistic that they have to worry about. Keep doing this work that is so needed @blackmamasmatter. 👑👩🏾‍⚕️🤰🏾

 

🤱🏾 Today I celebrate life! And the older I get, the more I realize just how precious it really is. 🥳🥰🎉🎈#thisis39 📸: @thefilmmarketer . . . #birthdaygirl👑 #blackmamasmatter #birthdayjoy #birthdayqueen #blessedbeyondmeasure #thankfulheart #godslove #godspromise #bestillandknow #butgod #wonthedoit #faithoverfear #highlyfavored #maternalhealth

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However, the fact of the matter is that it’s a topic that can no longer be ignored. I’m sharing this because should my daughters ever decide to have kids later in life, I don’t want them to have to worry about this.

Did you know about the stats surrounded black maternal health?

Please check out my #FLYMomChat episode with Tonya Rapley where she shares her experience and why she started the Black Maternal Health Project.

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