TAMPA, Fla. — Black Maternal Health Week is an annual campaign from April 11 through 17 aimed at raising awareness about the deadly disparities experts say Black mothers face when giving birth.

It’s also an opportunity to offer ways to combat the crisis.

The Tampa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is hosting the Dear Black Mommy, Black Maternal Wellness Event.

Kylani Campbell is one of the speakers at the event. She said the Black maternal health crisis first got her attention when she gave birth to her second daughter.

“We always talk about being strong and being able to do all the things, but you don’t have to do all the things and you don’t have to do them by yourself," she said. "And definitely talking about getting husbands and families involved more on that team to help the mom. I think that’s when my thought process began to change when I had my second daughter, and it really made me go back to that team I was talking about.”

Campbell said it’s the numbers that should bother everyone.

“Statistically women of color, we die in childbirth, after childbirth because of complications much more than other races because we’re not listened to or people think our pain threshold is so high,” she said.

Birthing teams look different for every expectant mother. The use of doulas and midwives has become increasingly popular. 

Alyssa Bedard said she’s seeing more mothers with her company, Breathing Through Life Doula and Birth Services.

“I feel like there’s an awareness of options, of birthing options, but there’s also this awakening that women are wanting to take over the control over their own bodies,” she said.

Knowing CDC numbers show that Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women is what made Bedard focus on this community.

But being in the delivery room with a Black mother after learning her baby didn’t have a heartbeat was a life-changing experience for her.

“Within seconds, her baby came out into my arms, ungloved and I can still feel the baby in the amniotic sac lifeless at 39 weeks,” she said.

“When you say the statistics, we kind of hear that in and out," Bedard added. "But when you put a face to a name and you put a story to that statistic, it makes it a little more real. These disparities are prevalent here. Like in our city."

Bedard and Campbell will join other panelists at the Dear Black Mommy, Black Maternal Wellness Event Saturday.

There will be free diapers for families, doula and lactation consultants on hand along with a Mama Talk panel. The event is being held at Bible Based Fellowship Church located at 4811 Ehrlich Road in Tampa. The event runs from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., and is free and open to the public.