This will be Nicole Black's first Christmas season without her daughter, Crystle. As she cares for her adorable grandbaby Jacob, Black must also struggle with memories from the early morning hours of July 4, 2018, when Crystle collapsed 6 days after giving birth. Black and her family members called 911, but they say EMTs with Hillsborough County, Florida questioned whether they could afford the $600 ambulance fee. Nicole Black drove Crystle to the emergency room herself, where she died five days later. #Reproductivejustice activists across America say stories like these happen every day, in rural areas and communities of color where medical facilities and transportation systems are limited or non-existent. No woman, regardless of her economic status or racial/ethnic background, should have to worry whether or not she might be refused medical care based on her zip-code. This is just one the issues affecting pregnant women in America that Lynsey Addario and I explored in our Jan. 2019 National Geographic Magazine feature about #maternalmortality . It's available on newstands now, and you can also read it here--> https://lnkd.in/ecUDk_X #Blackmamasmatter Women Deliver #reproductivehealth #birthequity #midwives #midwivesofcolor #midwivesmatter #doulas …see more