- Three-time Olympic medalist Tori Bowie died of pregnancy-related complications at 32 years old.
- Fellow high-profile athletes Serena Williams and Allyson Felix had similar issues during childbirth.
Serena Williams nearly died while giving birth.
The tennis legend had an emergency C-section after her daughter's hearbeat dropped rapidly during her 2017 labor. Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born healthy on September 1, but for the next week, Williams was fighting for her life.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion underwent four surgeries to treat a pulmonary embolism, a hematoma, and several related complications, which she described in an April 2022 essay for ELLE.
Allyson Felix — the most decorated American Track and Field athlete in Olympic history — found herself in a similar position just over a year later. At her 32-week check-up, doctors discovered that Felix's blood pressure was dangerously elevated and that her baby's heart rate was slowing to a crawl.
She had an emergency C-section nearly two months before her due date. Both mother and daughter survived.
Tori Bowie and her child did not.
The 32-year-old, who won gold alongside Felix as the anchor of their 4x100 relay team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was found dead in her Florida home on May 2.
An autopsy report revealed this week that the three-time Olympic medalist died of childbirth-related complications, including respiratory distress and eclampsia. She was reportedly eight months pregnant at the time of her death. Her daughter did not survive.
The fact is, in the United States, the risk of dying in childbirth is much higher than in any other rich nation. Black women are three times more likely to die than white women.
"All Black women, all women of color are at risk," Felix told Insider in a 2022 interview. "It doesn't matter how great of medical care that you have, or being a professional athlete."
Black women have higher risks of pregnancy complications — but doctors say systemic racism is the real issue
Black women disproportionately suffer from pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and can lead to seizures or a coma. We know from Felix and Williams that being a world-class athlete doesn't reduce the risk.
Nor does wealth, as Beyoncé — who, alongside her husband, is worth more than $1 billion — also had pre-eclampsia while pregnant with her twins.
Experts say the real issue lies in how Black women are dismissed and ignored in the world of medicine.
"Having a higher socio-economic status for Black women is not protective," neonatologist and pediatrician Dr. Terri Major-Kincade previously told Insider. "These disparities are related to systemic issues, and they're not going to get better until we provide equitable care."
Williams said she experienced this issue first-hand, writing in ELLE that she had to fight for her life-saving surgeries: "Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me."
Let this be a wake-up call to save all Black women
Last year, Felix told Insider: "I never would've imagined that this would be my situation," reflecting on her harrowing experience. "I think that that's what a lot of people think."
This week, she made a heartwrenching call for change in an essay for TIME, which Williams shared on her Instagram Story.
She said she won't let Bowie — her teammate and friend — die in vain.
"When I became pregnant, my doctor didn't sit me down and tell me, 'these are things that you should look for in your pregnancy, because you are at a greater risk to experience these complications,'" Felix wrote. "That needs to change, now, especially in light of Tori's tragic passing. Awareness is huge."
"I hate that it takes Tori's situation to put this back on the map and to get people to pay attention to it," she added. "But oftentimes, we need that wake-up call."