Allyson Felix Joins Forces With Pampers To Advocate For Black Maternal Health

As a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, Felix has proven to be one of track and field’s best. Coupled with her accolades, she is also a mother to Camryn — now three years of age. While entering motherhood can be one of the most beautiful life experiences, Felix’s introduction was abruptly shaken due to a severe case of preeclampsia.

“You know, I had the perfect birth plan. I had everything in my mind, like this is how it’s gonna go and being a professional athlete, I just never imagined finding myself in the situation. I mean, I had a really great pregnancy up until that point. I felt really strong. I was running, I was lifting weights. I was in the gym. And so when I found myself going for a regular appointment and then being diagnosed with preeclampsia, it was just so scary,” Felix told ESSENCE.

Felix’s experience awakened the urgency to advocate for Black maternal health and she looks forward to diving further into the space with the help of Pampers.

“Going through that experience really opened my eyes and it just made me passionate about wanting to raise awareness and just do more work in that space,” Felix said, according to ESSENCE.

Pampers will pledge $250,000 towards Black maternal health and distribute $100,000 to the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC) to support quality care for Black mothers and efforts to decrease Black maternal mortality rates. Throughout June, users can advance Black maternal health efforts further by sharing the RaiseCareDeliverJoy. Pampers will donate one additional dollar to the NBEC for every share until they reach $10,000. Funds raised will support bias training with the March of Dimes and a documentary with Queen Collective and director Haimy Assefa depicting the realities of giving birth while Black in America.