?Hear the Pain?: Years After Serena Williams and Beyonce?s Near-Death Pregnancy Complications, Olympic Legend Makes an Appeal While Mourning Teammate Tori Bowie?s Loss

Track and field legend Tori Bowie passed away in April 2023, and the whole athletics world mourned her loss. When it was learned recently that Bowie died of childbirth complications after her autopsy report came out, fans and athletes were once again crestfallen. But, for reasons deeper than what meets the eye, Bowie’s death has also created a storm in social media and otherwise, which is only increasing with time. Her former teammate and 11x Olympic medalist, Allyson Felix recently talked to TIME magazine and reminded everyone that Bowie wasn’t the first to suffer a similar circumstance.

Allyson Felix has been fighting numerous causes for African-American women over the years, and maternal healthcare is at the top of that list. From Serena Williams to Beyonce’ to Felix herself and to her other teammate during the 2016 Rio Olympics, Tianna Bartoletta, everyone came close to dying once due to pregnancy-related issues.

Citing several examples, Allyson Felix makes a valid point

Tori Bowie, Allyson Felix, English Gardner, and Tianna Bartoletta, together won the gold medal at the 4×100-meter relay event in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The memories are deeply embedded in Felix’s mind and are, therefore, extremely cherished. Felix said that Tori Bowie “was a beautiful runner. She was effortless” to TIME Magazine. Soon Felix’s fondness for that memory was replaced with the bitterness of the ongoing news. While Bowie died, Felix and Bartoletta experienced near-death situations for similar reasons.

She stated in an inetrview with TIME, “The medical community must do its part. There are so many stories of women dying who haven?t been heard. Doctors really need to hear the pain of Black women”. Felix was almost pleading with everyone. Tori Bowie’s complications were mainly a result of respiratory distress and eclampsia, a rare condition that leads to high blood pressure and thereby dangerous childbirth effects.

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Bowie isn’t the first one to suffer from eclampsia. In fact, this rare pregnancy disorder (eclampsia or pre-eclampsia) is far more prevalent in African-American women than in other communities, several surveys suggest. Many eminent personalities have faced the same. “Serena Williams had near-death complications during her pregnancy. Beyonc? developed preeclampsia. I hate that it takes Tori?s situation to put this back on the map and to get people to pay attention to it”, continued Felix to TIME magazine.

The lesser-known health scare of pregnancy in African-American women

Serena Williams’s complications and pregnancy-induced health problems forced her to bow out of the Australian Open on January 5, 2018. However, she survived the scare and went on to have another child down the line. That too took a toll on her, as she suffered from a pulmonary embolism after giving birth.

Beyonce, the Queen of Pop, had to cancel her tours and concerts when she got unexpectedly pregnant and then was troubled with eclampsia. Allyson Felix too was 32 weeks pregnant when she suffered from pre-eclampsia. Bartoletta took to her Instagram, in the wake of the news about Bowie’s cause of death, and informed the world that she faced pregnancy complications when she was 26 weeks pregnant. The list is far longer and far wider and it encompasses several women in America from all its corners.

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Allyson Felix, who has led the fight for a long time, is pushing now more than ever for more attention to be paid to this grave matter.