NORFOLK, Va. — Nurse Jenny Kennard has a soft place in her heart for new mothers.
“Everyone comes from a mother. There are no babies without moms,” said Kennard, a nurse at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. “Women are still at risk for complications up to one year after delivery, and that's something that we want to emphasize and educate the public about.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, women are at an increased risk of death up to a year after giving birth. The CDC also reports 700 women die from pregnancy-related complications in the United States every year, but 80 percent of those deaths could have been prevented with prompt treatment. Symptoms like relentless headaches, severe swelling and chest pain could be warning signs of serious complications like heart disease and stroke.
Watch: Sentara’s 'I Gave Birth Bracelets' aim to save moms’ lives through awareness
“This is not to scare you. This is to prepare you [to know the warning signs],” said Kennard. “This is us advocating for you through education.”
Last year, Kennard read about East Carolina University Medical Center’s “I Gave Birth” bracelet program aimed at spreading awareness about postpartum health to mothers and medical professionals. So, she started giving bracelets to mothers at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, along with education about postpartum warning signs. Her mission has spread to several other Sentara campuses and hundreds of new mothers.
Watch: The silent threat to new moms: What you need to know about postpartum heart health
Earlier this year, I shined a light on Kennard’s initiative. I was thrilled to honor her efforts with a News 3 Everyday Hero award.
“Thank you so much!” said Kennard as I surprised her with the award in room filled with her colleagues at the hospital. “Thank you all for being here. I could not do it without the team that I work with. So, they make it all happen, and the mothers make it all worthwhile.”
Kennard said her mission was driven by a startling statistic highlighted in the Virginia Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Review: Hampton Roads has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the state. More than a third of those deaths, according to the report, happen between 43 days and 365 days after the end of a pregnancy.
“If a woman comes in and says, ‘I have a headache that won't go away, or I'm overwhelmingly tired, or, you know, I've had this swelling that's increasing, or this bleeding that's increasing,’ instead of just saying, ‘Oh, well, this is normal. You just had a baby,’ we need to figure out why this is happening," said Kennard.
The underlying causes of postpartum death, according to the CDC, include:
- Mental health conditions (including deaths to suicide and overdose/poisoning related to substance use disorder) (23%)
- Excessive bleeding (hemorrhage) (14%)
- Cardiac and coronary conditions (relating to the heart) (13%)
- Infection (9%)
- Thrombotic embolism (a type of blood clot) (9%)
- Cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle) (9%)
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (relating to high blood pressure) (7%)
“More than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable,” Dr. Wanda Barfield, who leads the CDC’s mission to expand postpartum health awareness.
I asked Dr. Barfield, “How important is a campaign like what [Nurse Kennard] is doing [at Sentara] to spread that awareness that we need to be focused on the health of new mothers.?”
She answered, “We all collectively can really make a difference to address important, urgent maternal warning signs, and make sure that mothers are receiving the care and attention that they need right away.”
That’s why the CDC and Sentara Health say it’s important to seek help for the following symptoms:
- Headache that won’t go away or gets worse over time
- Dizziness or fainting
- Changes in your vision
- Fever of 100.4° degree or higher
- Extreme swelling of your hands or face
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
- Trouble breathing
- Chest pain or fast beating heart
- Severe nausea or throwing up
- Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away
- Baby’s movement stopping or slowing during pregnancy
- Severe swelling, redness or pain of your leg or arm
- Vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking during pregnancy
- Heavy vaginal bleeding or discharge after pregnancy
- Overwhelming tiredness
Nearly 2,000 bracelets have been ordered for Sentara hospitals, with the goal of having them for all family maternity centers within the Sentara health system.
