Elaine Welteroth Talks Black Maternal Health During Second Pregnancy

Elaine Welteroth is savoring every moment of her second pregnancy and taking the initiative to ensure expecting mothers across the country can do the same. “I’m excited to meet this baby and to step into motherhood from a different vantage point, this time where I have my village surrounding me from the very beginning,” Welteroth tells SheKnows during a conversation about the Aug. 13 launch of her Worry-Free Baby Registry, created in partnership with Johnson’s and Pediatric Educator and OB-GYN, Dr. Ali Rodriguez. 

Since giving birth to her son in April 2022, the multi-hyphenate has been transparent about the details of her traumatic first pregnancy experience, one that many expecting mothers find all too familiar. After being gaslighted and dismissed by medical professionals — who ignored her symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD), a joint condition that further complicated the child birthing process — Welteroth sought lifesaving perinatal and postnatal midwifery care; the experience was transformative. 

In addition to becoming a mother and delivering a healthy baby boy under the support of her midwife, the journalist adopted a new title that has since made her journey into motherhood even richer: maternal health educator. Through her own investigation, Welteroth learned that Black women and babies are disproportionately affected by maternal and infant mortality, regardless of socioeconomic status, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. In fact, late maternal deaths occurring between six weeks and one year postpartum are between three and four times more likely among Black women, per a 2021 study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Access to proper midwifery care, though, can prevent up to 80 percent of these maternal deaths.

“This is a problem that impacts us all and that will require all of us to fix it.”

This statistic ignited a fire in Welteroth and inspired her to take action on behalf of pregnant mothers who are not receiving the maternal care they deserve. “For me, that gave me a lot of hope and it inspired me to create this call to action that’s very solution-oriented and that I knew folks who cared would rally around,” she says. In December 2023, Welteroth set a birthday fundraiser goal to provide midwifery support for an expecting mother in Los Angeles who otherwise wouldn’t have received maternal care. The fundraiser was a success and quickly evolved into BirthFUND, Welteroth’s ongoing initiative to provide midwifery care and resources to expecting parents to decrease maternal mortality rates in the U.S., particularly for women of color.

“With every decision that you make [under midwifery support], you are at the center of it,” she says. “It’s patient-centered care and you’re educated by your team of midwives and community birth workers. There’s a sense of agency and empowerment that comes with that.”

Through the fund, Welteroth and her team — including celebrity funders like Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, Karlie Kloss, and Ayesha Curry — have sourced and vetted experienced birth workers and put them in touch with expectant mothers. The foundation has also been able to provide need-based grants for holistic perinatal care and midwifery birth support, services Welteroth wishes she’d had access to sooner during her first pregnancy. “It’s been really fulfilling to put some of my pain points to work in a purposeful way, to drive change that I really believe in,” the BirthFUND founder says.

In a country where nearly 50 percent of birthing parents describe their childbirth experience as traumatic, Welteroth knows the work to decrease maternal mortality rates in the US is only beginning. She’s confident, however, that raising awareness of this fixable maternal health crisis is the first step to reimagining the future of childbirth and maternal care. “[Birth] is truly transformative and can be so joyful. It doesn’t have to be scary, especially in the richest country in the world. I think we just need to drive more attention, awareness, and resources into solutions like midwifery care . . . I really believe if we can move the needle, even on this one solution, we can start to really solve this crisis in our lifetime, and that energizes me.” That includes supporting fathers who lose their partners and are left to raise their children on their own, as well as other family members closely affected by the maternal mortality crisis.

“One change I’d like to see to the [maternal mortality] narrative is that this isn’t a Black woman’s problem to fix,” Welteroth adds. “This is a systemic problem that faces every family in this country and across the world, frankly, but particularly here in America where our maternal death rates are 10 times that of other high-income countries . . . This is a problem that impacts us all and that will require all of us to fix it.”

In addition to raising awareness of the statistics surrounding maternal health, Welteroth has made a point of using her platform to encourage expecting parents to highlight some of the most memorable and beautiful aspects of birth and motherhood. “While it’s important for us to be aware of the risks associated with birth and for us not to be ignorant of the maternal mortality crisis, it is also important for us to understand how to thrive in parenthood and for us to elevate joyful stories around parenthood and childbirth,” Welteroth says.

For the soon-to-be mom of two, one of these cherished moments includes bathtime with her baby boy. “Bathtime is like a beautiful ritual with my baby,” she says, adding that she uses the Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash & Shampoo included in her registry. “Knowing that I’m going to have two babies means more baths and the product that I choose to bathe my babies in will become a part of their lifelong memories and mine as well. I want to create those types of memories for my babies and I want to do it at a price point that’s affordable.”

The BirthFUND founder launched the Worry-Free Baby Registry in an effort to alleviate some of the stress fellow expecting mothers experience leading up to their due dates. “The registry process is definitely one of those things that can make you feel totally isolated and overwhelmed,” Welteroth says. “I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge now and lessons learned that I can draw from to help parents — other first-time parents especially — navigate that process.”

“My pregnancy has taken on new meaning and I feel like I’m getting energy from knowing that I’ve been able to repurpose the lessons from my first pregnancy into real, positive change for other families.”

For instance, first-time parents tend to overbuy and overspend in preparation for a baby. Welteroth’s registry, however, is designed to help limit overthinking with multi-purpose products like the Doona Car Seat and Stroller, the Graco Tri-Ride 3-in-1 Car Seat, and a Nestig Wave Crib that grows with your baby or toddler as they do. “[My baby is] going on two and a half and he still loves [the Doona],” she says. “We still take that thing to the park, on multiple flights across the country and across the world and back.”

Now, with a second baby on the way, Welteroth hopes products like these will create a smoother transition into parenthood for new parents. “It’s funny because I was never that girl who wanted to talk about babies or anything mommy-related but now I love this,” she says. “I love these conversations and I’m always that girl who like, I want to stop on the street when I see moms and babies and families and I want to talk to them and swap tips . . . My pregnancy has taken on new meaning and I feel like I’m getting energy from knowing that I’ve been able to repurpose the lessons from my first pregnancy into real, positive change for other families.”

The lessons Welteroth has learned along the way have had a profound impact on her approach to motherhood, allowing her to enjoy motherhood as she’d always hoped. “I have so much more knowledge now and I understand how good it gets on the other side,” she says. “I think the first time I was pregnant I didn’t really know. I couldn’t even get to the goodness on the other side because I was so bogged down with the stress of being pregnant, not having the right support, and not knowing where to look for it.”

Now, eager to welcome her second baby into the world, Welteroth can’t help but reflect fondly on becoming a first-time mother and share her excitement to do it all again. “[Giving birth to my son] truly is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she says. “Not to sound incredibly cliche but he changed my life. He expanded my sense of purpose in ways that are still expanding. I’m just excited to see how he steps into the big brother role and how he’ll impact this new life. And I’m also excited to meet whoever this baby is that’s powering this mission — they’re going to be a world-changer.”

Before you go, shop these must-have products for pregnancy and bed rest: