In the death of an Olympian, Black moms hear echoes of their own crises

They see themselves in her story. Not necessarily the part about being an elite athlete. But the part about being a Black woman who suffered catastrophic complications of pregnancy and childbirth, hers being fatal.

Some poured out their pain on social media, recounting the trauma they endured. Others commiserated in group chats for Black mothers or gasped in solitude, saying quiet prayers of thanks that they survived what hundreds annually do not. And many of the obstetricians, midwives, doulas and reproductive-health equity researchers who said her name — Tori Bowie — with reverence also expressed exasperation that the nation’s worsening maternal health crisis had claimed another victim.