Olympics Champion Puts Spotlight on Maternal Health
Oct. 30, 2023, David Mitchell (Chicago) — Peter Woodrich, M.D., is likely a step or two slower than when he was a track and field All-American at North Dakota State in the 1980s, but the 58-year-old family physician still made pretty good time hustling through the gigantic McCormick Place convention center to meet 11-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix.
After speaking to a ballroom packed with family docs Oct. 27 during a Family Medicine Experience mainstage event, Felix posed for photographs and signed autographs for several hundred attendees during a meet-and-greet event in the expo hall.
“I didn’t have to wait too long, maybe 15 minutes, because I made a beeline out of there to get in line,” said Woodrich, who practices inpatient and outpatient medicine in Duluth, Minn. “I’m a huge track fan, and I really enjoyed her speech. She did a great job. I got a picture with her, and she was really nice.”
Although Woodrich and Felix have an obvious shared passion for their sport, one might ask what the most decorated athlete in track and field history has to do with the AAFP.
The answer? Both are working hard to address the nation’s maternal mortality crisis.
Academy Resources
AAFP EVP and CEO Shawn Martin noted during the mainstage event that more than half of pregnancy-related deaths happen postpartum and more than 80% of maternal deaths are preventable.
Eleven-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix spoke with AAFP EVP and CEO Shawn Martin during her main stage event at the 2023 Family Medicine Experience on Oct. 27.
“It’s unacceptable in a country with our resources and expertise,” he said. “Family physicians can play a key role in addressing this issue.”
The AAFP launched a comprehensive CME package earlier this year to allow family physicians to learn about and adopt the Fourth Trimester model of care. This winter, the Academy plans to launch audiocasts and additional resources to continue equipping family physicians — regardless of whether they deliver babies — with the resources to address maternal mortality and morbidity.
The Academy also offers resources, CME and member stories related to pregnancy, postpartum care, reproductive health and sexual health on its Center for Women’s Health webpage.
Story Highlights
Advocating for Women
Felix first took a stand for herself and her peers when she was planning to start a family. In 2017, the year she turned 32, her contract with Nike expired. The shoe and apparel giant, which she had endorsed for a decade, asked her to take a significant pay cut.
Felix had a bigger issue. She wanted maternity protection in her contract, a guarantee that she wouldn’t be punished if she didn’t perform at an elite level in the months before and after childbirth.
“You get a bonus for winning World Championship and Olympic medals,” she said, describing the way endorsements were often structured. “If you don’t, you get a reduction. I was asking for time to recover.”
Felix and two other female Nike athletes shared their stories with The New York Times in 2019. Within a few weeks, Nike and other athletic shoe manufacturers changed their policies.
It was too late for Felix, who broke with Nike and started her own shoe company, Saysh. The brand’s shoes are specifically designed for women, whose feet are typically narrower in the heel and wider in the forefoot.
Her company also has a unique policy that allows women to exchange their shoes if their size changes during pregnancy.
“I always thought my purpose was medals,” said Felix, who retired from competition after the 2022 track season. “How many can I win? How fast can I run? How many world records can I break? Now I find great joy as an advocate.”
Sharing Her Story
She almost didn’t get the chance. During what was supposed to be a routine prenatal visit at 32 weeks, Felix was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, was admitted to the hospital and had an emergency cesarian section in 2018.
“It’s been my job for my lifetime to take care of my body,” she said. “It happened so quickly. I didn’t know what preeclampsia was or what it meant. It was really scary for my family, and I was worried for my daughter. It opened my eyes to issues around maternal health.”
“I was so grateful to walk out of there,” said Felix, who also told her story in the CDC’s Hear Her campaign, which shares women’s personal stories of pregnancy-related complications. “So many mothers are unable to do that. How many children grow up without a mother? I wanted to do more. I felt a calling for it.”
Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white peers. Felix, who had experienced swollen feet but did not realize she was suffering from high blood pressure, is working to raise awareness.
“The biggest thing for me was not knowing,” she said. “What is this condition? What are the signs? What should I look out for?”
Tori Bowie, another Black Olympic track champion who was Felix’s friend and teammate, died from complications of childbirth earlier this year. She was 32.
“Another tragic loss had to happen to bring this back to the forefront,” said Felix, who testified during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing about racial disparities in maternal mortality in 2019. “Her life will not be lost in vain. I will continue to do this work. It’s a passion of my heart.”
Her message for physicians was simple:
“One of the biggest things is the relationship with the patient,” she said. “Women feel timid about bringing up concerns in a doctor’s office. They know they’re not the experts. I would encourage you to listen.”
Felix, who earned her first Olympic medal at age 18 in 2004 at the Athens Games, made it back to the Olympics for a fifth and final time at age 35 in the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Less than two years after the birth of her daughter, she won a gold medal in the 1,600-meter relay and a bronze in the 400 meters.
“It was my first time as a mother, and I had a totally different perspective,” she said. “I’m a very competitive person. This time getting to that starting line and overcoming adversity, I felt like I was representing mothers, women and anyone who had been told they couldn’t do something.”
In 2022, Felix won gold and bronze medals in relay events at her final World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., going home with her 19th and 20th World Championship medals.
“Track and field was definitely big in my household, and I followed her in the Olympics,” Katina Fox, M.D., a family physician from Perry Hall, Md., said after having her photo taken with Felix. “I told her I’m going to quote her: ‘We measure success by our impact.’ I’m going to take that home and apply it and spread it.”