Surviving Still Birth and HELLP Syndrome and Bringing Awareness to Black Maternal Health with Tomeka James Isaac, Founder of Jace’s Journey

In this episode, host Lina Forrestal sits down with Tomeka James Issac, Founder of Jace's Journey. Tomeka shares her story: in May of 2018, her husband Brandon Isaac sat in a hospital room with their son, Jace Alexander, due in a month with no fetal heartbeat and Tomeka, unconscious, diagnosed with the life-threatening H.E.L.L.P (Hemolysis Elevated Liver Enzymes Low Platelet) Syndrome and fighting for her life.

Forty-five hospital days and 7 surgeries later, thanks to prayers and an amazing surgical team, Tomeka and Brandon Isaac left the hospital together. The couple learned Tomeka’s sickness and Jace’s death could have been prevented.

“50,000 women each year almost die as a result of childbirth. That’s one mother every 10 minutes in the US. The causes of most near death emergencies are preventable. However, the risk of having complications is much greater for black women. If you are black and highly-educated, you still have a higher probability of pregnancy-related death than the least educated white woman.”

In honor of their son, the Isaacs created Jace’s Journey to raise awareness and contribute to improving maternal/fetal healthcare disparities through education, advocacy and community engagement.

Jace’s Journey Inc, a non-profit organization, was founded in 2019 to address racial disparities in maternal health outcomes.

The US is the only industrialized nation with rising maternal mortality rates and the increase disproportionately affects women of color. African-American mothers are dying at 3-4 times the rate of non- Hispanic whites. Infants born to African-American mothers are dying at twice the rate as infants born to non- Hispanic white mothers.

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