“Will I Be Here to Raise That Child?”: Mother of 4-Year-Old, Allsyon Felix Petrified to Give Birth in America

It has been more than a week since the cause of Tori Bowie’s death was revealed to the world. It created a stir in the discussion regarding neglect toward new mothers in a certain section of the community, and the debate is being spearheaded by her former teammate Allyson Felix. The 7-time Olympic gold medalist, also a mother of one daughter, is still seeking a solution for new mothers and support from the male athletics fraternity for her fight for better healthcare. She also revealed her wish to have another child once, but given the circumstances, she is scared for her health.

Tori Bowie, Allyson Felix, English Gardner, and Tianna Bartoletta, were the gold medal winners in 4×100 meters relay race at Rio Olympics 2016. 3 out of the 4 have faced horrible pregnancy complications. While Bowie succumbed to her struggles, Felix and Bartoletta once nearly died. Years later, Felix, standing alongside her other African-American kinship, wants to feel the joy of pregnancy, not fear.

Will Allyson Felix be able to put away this fear in mothers for good?

A recent Instagram post by Uninterrupted took quotes from an Allyson Felix interview with TIME magazine, just days after Tori Bowie’s death. Felix said to TIME magazine, “I would love to have another child. That’s something that I know for sure. But will I be here to raise that child?” Felix is currently the mother of Camryn, a 4-year-old girl who also suffered health risks at birth. She spent the first month of her life in the ICU.

Her sentence ending in a question is more of a pointed one. It is pointed towards the system put in place in America that oversees such needs of the crisis. She continued, “That’s a very real concern. And that’s a terrifying thing. This is America, in 2023, and Black women are dying while giving birth. It’s absurd”.

READ MORE – “Two of Us Experienced Near-Death Complications”: Days After Tori Bowie’s Saddening Fate During Pregnancy, Her Olympic Teammate Reveals Shocking Details

Felix didn’t mince words in calling out the injustice and unfair nature of treatment she saw towards a section of the society she belongs to. She also said in the interview, “We’re dealing with a black maternal health crisis”.

The skewed statistics that form the basis of Felix’s argument

No sooner than the autopsy reports of Bowie’s death came to the forefront, Felix paid her tribute to her late friend and colleague while also highlighting this consistent issue via her Twitter account. One of the reasons that were stated to have accelerated Bowie’s complications was pre-eclampsia, something that Felix and Bartoletta suffered themselves. As per several surveys, the ratio of this rare condition is significantly higher in African American women. It causes high blood pressure that further affects childbirth possibilities.

While the news surrounding Bowie’s death and the reason behind it get denser, Felix and her peers keep raising their voices for justice and for immediate action. Whether a reply or response from the other side is on the horizon is something that is yet to be known. However, Felix’s wish to be a mother again is something that most people, male or female, might embrace with warmth. And to that end, changes could be made.

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