US Olympian Felix calls for better maternity for black women after Bowie's death

16 June 2023 , 15:19

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The US women's 2016 4x100m gold medal winning relay team from (L) Torie Bowie, Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner (Image: Getty Images)

Seven-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix is adamant Torie Bowie's tragic death "will not be in vain" after her former team-mate suffered fatal complications during childbirth.

The two athletes won gold together as part of United States' 4x100m relay team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, along with Tianna Bartoletta (now Madison) and English Gardner. From that team, Felix, Bowie and Madison have all died or nearly died whilst giving birth.

Bowie, 32, passed away last month at her home in Florida. An autopsy report estimated Bowie was eight months pregnant and in labour at the time of her death. Possible causes of her death include respiratory problems and eclampsia - where the body suffers seizures following pre-eclampsia - a condition which raises blood pressure during and after labour.

Taking to Instagram, Felix posted an image of Bowie along with one of the 4x100m team, writing: "These are my teammates. We are Olympic champions. Three of us tried to give birth. Two of us experienced near-death complications. One of us died. We have to, and we will do more. Tori’s death cannot and will not be in vain."

Felix, 37, developed pre-eclampsia whilst pregnant in 2018. It led to her giving birth at 32 weeks via an emergency C-section. Her daughter Camryn was then kept in an intensive care unit for a month before being allowed home. She admitted: "I was unsure if I was going to make it. If I was ever going to hold my precious daughter."

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Madison, 37, claims she nearly died after going into labour at 26 weeks. Posting a picture of the 4x100m team on her own Instagram, she wrote: "THREE (3) of the FOUR (4) of us who ran on the SECOND fastest 4x100m relay of all time, the 2016 Olympic Champions have nearly died or died in childbirth."

She then pointed out that maternal mortality rates make it three times as likely for a black woman to die during childbirth than a white woman. Madison credits her prior knowledge of this disparity for her still being alive today, but admitted: "I was NOT AT ALL confident that I’d be coming home."

Felix has tackled this issue in an interview with Time magazine and called for more awareness and education to be provided and early detection of known symptoms to help avoid similar tragic instances happening again in future and to eliminate the disparity between black women and other races.

"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.

"I would love to have another child. That’s something that I know for sure. But will I be here to raise that child? That’s a very real concern. And that’s a terrifying thing. This is America, in 2023, and Black women are dying while giving birth. It’s absurd."

Darren Wells