Tianna Madison, grieving former teammate Tori Bowie, reveals she almost died in childbirth
The three-time Olympic gold medalist revealed on social media Tuesday that she went into labor at 26 weeks.
Olympian Tianna Madison suffered from complications during her pregnancy, and she’s unpacking her experience following the death of her teammate Tori Bowie, People reports.
Madison, 37, turned to her Instagram Tuesday to share a photo of herself at the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016. She posed with Bowie, Allyson Felix and English Gardner after they won the 4x100m gold medal.
“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,” Madison wrote.
“WTF. Why? Black women have the HIGHEST maternal mortality rate. 3 times higher than white women,” she continued. “And the more educated the black woman, the higher her mortality rate becomes.”
TheGrio reported previously that Bowie, 32, was found deceased in bed at her home on May 2. An autopsy report released by the Orange County, Florida, medical examiner’s office confirmed she died from complications of childbirth, ABC News 3 reports.
The American track and field champion was eight months pregnant and was in labor when she passed away. According to the autopsy report, Bowie experienced “possible complications,” including “respiratory distress and eclampsia.”
Her manner of death was ruled natural.
According to USA Today, citing the medical examiner’s report, Bowie had a “well-developed fetus” when she died in May.
Madison revealed on social media Tuesday that after she also went into labor prematurely.
“In fact, even though I went into labor at 26 weeks we went to the hospital with my medical advance directive AND my will,” she wrote on Instagram.
She noted having “a VERY tough conversation” with her partner Chuck about the possibility of not surviving her delivery in November 2021.
“I was NOT AT ALL confident that I’d be coming home,” Madison admitted, but she also elaborated on the “two reasons” why she did make it back home with her family.
She was acutely aware of the alarming Black maternity mortality rates.
“I was all too aware of the [racial] disparity and communicated this to my partner so we could go in eyes wide open,” she wrote.
She also credits Chuck for advocating for her during the delivery.
“Even though we agreed about who his priority would be in an emergency situation he did not take no for an answer from the doctors and as a result saved me AND the baby,” she wrote.
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