Peggy Hinkle, IBCLC, RLC

She did “everything right.” She was a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemiologist. She knew the risks of Black maternal mortality and postpartum hypertension better than most of the clinicians who would treat her.

She chose a strong OB-GYN, built a detailed birth plan and followed every instruction to bring Soleil into this world safely.

And yet, Shalon had been trying to tell providers she didn’t feel right after childbirth. Her blood pressure was dangerously high. Her legs were swollen. She was gaining weight rapidly. And still, they sent her home.

One night, my daughter collapsed. She would never wake up. Shalon died just seven days later from childbirth-associated blood pressure complications.

Shalon was so much more than a maternal mortality statistic. She served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She was the first student to earn a dual-titled Ph.D. in sociology and gerontology from Purdue. She was committed to putting research into practice, working with communities and using participatory approaches that treated people as partners, not simply subjects. She was a once-in-a-generation public health mind.

And yet, the system that is supposed to keep new mothers alive failed her anyway.

Read this full piece, contributed by Wanda Irving, founder, CEO and board chair of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project ➡️ https://bit.ly/4cgx56f

🖋️ : Wanda Irving for the AJC

A Dilley TX detainee had a baby Monday morning. She will no doubt be returned to Dilley soon. Measles, RSV, other viruses are there. Physicians are asking HCPs to sign this petition (the link is in #1). Please sign and share. The 2 mo old who was hospitalized, released, then deported is now in hospital in Mexico w RSV. We know without a doubt that this new mom will not receive adequate lactation care. The water there is contaminated. The time has been extended to Feb 24 at 5:00pm.
If you are a HCP - PLEASE sign and share. Call your representatives.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aViQ8EwnTnQg1j_P-f2hM4P6BxCSudVfERGZKze-Ifc/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwY2xjawQKyjVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeAAr7RW-rkS64ITNA_EF-Pr_7udDMPNg-DokDLwsiAzGEA2YfKKJ2212RgCw_aem_nfzQLU4ioEXViTJNNLN8bA

Help babies and kids at Dilley Detention Center 2/21/26 Help babies and kids at Dilley Detention Center 2/22/26 (the short link for this doc is https://tinyurl.com/dilleybabies) If you’re a healthcare or public health professional (all levels of training and allies of healthcare) please sign this letter to Kristi Noem demanding the release of ALL ch...