Motherhood has a way of shifting everything, and for Elaine Welteroth, it sparked a mission she never expected. The journalist, author, and former Teen Vogue editor says becoming a mom opened her eyes to just how complicated and often unfair America’s maternal health landscape can be, especially for women of color.
While pregnant with her first son, Silver, the 38-year-old quickly realized what so many families already know, the system isn’t built to support them.
“Our health system prioritizes intervention over prevention, speed over humanity, and profit over patient care,” she said in a recent interview with Parents.com.
And the numbers back it up. Black women continue to face maternal mortality rates more than three times those of white women, according to the CDC.
Feeling dismissed in traditional medical spaces, Elaine turned to midwives for care, a decision that changed everything.
“Their care is different from what you can expect in a medical context with doctors,” she told the outlet. “At a medical appointment, you will maybe get 10 or 15 minutes with a doctor who may or may not be there at your birth. Midwives spend so much more time with you. I spent two hours with my midwives and many times they come to your home.”
It was a sharp contrast to her earlier experience of being escorted out of a doctor’s office for “asking too many questions.” Her midwives helped her understand every option, including home birth, something she once thought she’d never even consider.
They also became advocates, not just providers. “They look at your whole lifestyle and all of the different factors that could contribute to your positive or negative birth outcomes. They help you manage all of these factors in a proactive, preventative way.”
The former Teen Vogue edior wanted that kind of care to be accessible to everyone. That vision led her to create birthFUND, a nonprofit that fully vets midwives and provides financial assistance to families seeking midwifery care. The initiative has already attracted major founding supporters, including Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland, Karlie Kloss, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, and others.
The fund partners with groups like Birth Center Equity and The Victoria Project, along with corporate supporters such as Athleta, goop, Pampers, and Walmart. The message is clear, safe, supported birth shouldn’t depend on income or zip code. “In the richest country in the world, 50% of women should not describe their birth as traumatic,” Elaine says. “That’s not normal.”
Elaine’s dedication to protecting families didn’t stop at birth. Like many new parents, she learned quickly how much more there was to navigate once her babies arrived. Through her mom groups, she began hearing about RSV, a highly contagious respiratory virus that affects most babies before age 1.
“I learned that two out of three babies will get infected by RSV by the time they turn 1,” she says. “And that was something I was a little nervous about with my second baby.”
That search led her to pediatrician Mona Amin, DO, whose guidance helped her better understand how common RSV is and why so many parents only hear about it after ending up in the ER.
“RSV is something we see every season in pediatrics, but parents often don’t hear about it until they’re sitting in an ER at 2 a.m.,” Dr. Amin explains. “We need to change that because although most cases are mild, the serious lung complications are unpredictable.”
Their understanding led to a collaboration with Sanofi on an awareness campaign, built on the belief that informed parents make empowered choices. “Education gives parents power. When families know what to look for and what options they have, outcomes improve and that’s the goal,” Dr. Amin says.
To find out more about the work that Elaine is doing to ensure that Maternal Health is taken seriously for all women in the United States, click here.
Photo Credit: Elaine Welteroth Instagram
