LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — According to the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Kentucky Maternal Mortality Report of 2025, Black women in the commonwealth are three to four times more likely to die during and after giving birth.
The state report revealed 82% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2017 and 2022 were preventable.
Tiffany Bellfield El Amin is a doula who works with pregnant women during pregnancy, the birthing process and the postpartum months. She said Saturday’s fifth annual Black Maternal Health Fair is personal.
"I’m not surprised. I think it’s education and miseducation," Bellfield El Amin said.
Bellfield El Amin works to educate women about the many things that often slip through the cracks, which she noted are not necessarily the fault of the traditional healthcare provider.
"As a doula, I can be that middle piece. A doctor has a million cases, they don't have time to do all this individualized care as much as they want to, they cannot. Triage can't either," Bellfield El Amin said.
Saturday's health fair runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dunbar Community Center. It is an opportunity for Bellfield El Amin to meet with expectant or future mothers to let them know the resource is available and might be covered by insurance.
"For folks to see a doula like me who's been doulaing for 20 years, so that they know they are safe, have representation and that they are being heard," Bellfield El Amin said.
