"Unacceptable": Olympic Track Star Tori Bowie's Death Highlights Black Maternal Health Crisis

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3. The issues Dr Williams speaks on notwithstanding, Bowie's death is odd

All we know is that she was 8 months pregnant, home alone and in labor.

Eclampsia and/or respiratory distress is considered (by whom?) but whether the medical system let her down here is not clear.

Perhaps she had encountered racism in previous OB visits that made her resistant to seeking help when it was needed. Perhaps she had called about pre-eclampsia symptoms and was not listened to. These are the types of experiences Dr. Williams speaks generally about, but we don’t know if Bowie, who was clearly in need of active and emergent medical attention, had reached out to friends, family, health care workers or first responders.

It’s fine to discuss issues that black women face in maternal health care, but to assume this was a systemic failure is premature.

In reading a bit more, her agent Kimberly Holland did bring up her resistance to pre-natal care, not wanting have the baby in the hospital, and perhaps some mental health issues - she only weighed 96 pounds at her death - very light for 5’9” Olympic athlete in 8th month of pregnancy. And articles mention history of bipolar disorder, which may or may not have been an issue. She had not been heard from for 3 days, but I don’t see a report of who asked for a welfare check by the police. She clearly did not have a strong social network.

Symptoms of labor and symptoms of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia are not subtle; eclampsia at least can be sudden, especially if not suspected in the course of good pre-natal care.

All in all, a tragedy that could have been avoided, but I cannot in fairness conclude that this was a failure of the medical establishment without more information.