GAINESVILLE, Ga. — While visiting Northeast Georgia Medical on Tuesday, Sen. Raphael Warnock discussed his recent legislation to support pregnant women while meeting with new and expectant mothers.
“It was important for me to be here because these are inspiring reminders of why I do this work in the first place," Warnock added.
One of those mothers, Katelyn Burton attended the roundtable discussion with her four-month-old, Mykigh Burton.
“With addiction, there could have been death, birth defects, withdrawals," Katelyn said.
Katelyn added she could have been just another statistic in the state's maternal mortality rate, after suffering from addiction for years. She said she became clean in December before giving birth to Mykigh. Katelyn said she's grateful politicians like Warnock are looking into every facet of why women continue to die during or shortly after pregnancy.
“It’s an experience that transcends politics. Regardless of whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or whether we live in an urban environment or rural community – we want moms to be safe as they’re bringing a child into this world," Warnock explained.
The senator just recently introduced the Kira Johnson Act, named after a Black woman with roots in Atlanta, who died in the hospital just 12 hours after delivering her child. The legislation would fund grants to improve maternal health outcomes in Black and underserved communities.
A state study recently found 89% of pregnancy-related deaths in Georgia from 2018 to 2020 were preventable.
The senator added that it's meeting people like Mykigh and his mom that push him to cross party lines to ensure other moms don't become another statistic.
"I know that I’m in politics, but honestly I put up with politics so that I can every now and then make a difference for the moms I talked with today," Warnock said.