PERRY, Ga. — According to World Population Review, Georgia is ranked 2nd in the nation for maternal mortality.
Patricia Prime with Prime BabyTime Consulting brought the event back for the second time to raise awareness about the issue in the Black community.
The event focused on educating soon-to-be parents about keeping maternal families safe.
With more awareness and attention to maternal and infant health, researchers hope this will improve health outcomes in minority communities.
Whitney Costello is a mom of three. She had her first two children in Louisiana, which has the state's highest maternal mortality rate.
She described her first pregnancy as traumatizing and she had to have a C-section because of preeclampsia.
"Everything moved so fast, literally. Every time we were on the phone, we were in a different part of the hospital and they're like, we're going to have to deliver her," Costello said.
Costello gave birth to her third child here in Georgia in March. She said this one was one of the hardest because the doctors at Houston Healthcare disregarded how she was feeling just four months into her pregnancy.
"I advocated that to my doctor and I felt unheard and they were like "well, just don't get up too fast." And I'm like, I'm not moving," Costello said.
Prime has been working with moms during their postpartum journey for more than 20 years. She says she's seen mothers struggle after giving birth.
"Also noticing she's not acting right, "Are you okay, you don't seem to be your normal self." When we start to recognize issues like that, we can start saying okay it's time to get you some help," Prime said.
Places like Peach State Health Plan, Houston County Health Department, and Women of Honor Center were at the expo to educate women about the different services they offer.
Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick was also there to talk about maternal health issues in central Georgia.
Prime said misrepresentation of Black women is one of the reasons for the high mortality rate.
"The Black angry women, we're loud, we can take the pain, that's what's been trained," Prime said.
According to the CDC, Black women are three times to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Costello says doctors should listen more carefully to Black women when something is wrong.
"I asked for a baby not, you not, the feelings that come after you deliver and you're feeling sad, or you're feeling like you can't or you're not enough, whatever the case may be," Costello said.