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  "path": "/2026/04/03/stuck-book-black-maternal-health-lauren-underwood/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-03T13:38:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://msmagazine.com",
  "tags": [
    "Health",
    "National",
    "Politics",
    "Black Women",
    "Book Excerpt",
    "Congress",
    "Death",
    "Healthcare",
    "Maternal Health",
    "Women in Politics",
    "How Personal Loss Drove Rep. Lauren Underwood to Take On the Black Maternal Health Crisis",
    "Ms. Magazine"
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  "textContent": "Excerpted from _Stuck: How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress_ by Maya L. Kornberg (published March 10):\n\nBlack women are about three times as likely as white women to die of pregnancy-related health conditions.\n\nOne of the Black mothers to die tragically was Shalon Irving, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.)'s friend. Irving was a successful scientist, who had befriended Underwood when they were both students at Johns Hopkins University.\n\nUnderwood remembered going to the funeral: “It was ... unimaginable. Her baby was there, her mom was there, the director of the CDC was there. All of these other uniformed public health officials were there, and everybody was stunned. How could this happen?”\n\nUnderwood sponsored the 2021 Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which addresses inequities in housing, nutrition and transportation that shape maternal health outcomes, and which contains plans to improve maternal mental health resources and data collection and to combat racial bias in prenatal care.\n\nUnderwood’s advocacy is a direct result of her personal experience.\n\nThe post How Personal Loss Drove Rep. Lauren Underwood to Take On the Black Maternal Health Crisis appeared first on Ms. Magazine.",
  "title": "How Personal Loss Drove Rep. Lauren Underwood to Take On the Black Maternal Health Crisis"
}