NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A healthy diet before, during and after pregnancy is so important for moms.
This Black Maternal Health Week, Indigo Harris, a mother and entrepreneur, explained how changing her diet has helped her be a better mom.
"I've always had a passion for it, but having my son being in this house during and post-pandemic, yeah, I was really battling with depression and I just wanted to feel good again," said Indigo Harris.
Black Maternal Health Week runs annually from April 11 to April 17. It was started by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to highlight the disparities in healthcare that are present, particularly for Black moms.
In Davidson County between 2017 and 2020, there were 36 pregnancy-associated deaths. The breakdown was 18 Black women, 14 white women and 4 Hispanic women. Additionally, 2 out of every 3 maternal deaths were preventable. The leading causes of pregnancy-associated death are suicide, homicide or drug overdose.
Harris created her wellness and culinary business Indigarden after finding out she was having a child.
"You don't want to like breastfeed your kid like fast food and processed breast milk, so that's when I really started trying out vegetarian meals," Harris said.
While Harris was pregnant, she discovered Nashville Strong Babies. The Metro Public Health program pairs families in certain zip codes with a care team for the first 18 months of a child's life. The support system helped Harris start her business, and importantly stay healthy and afloat.
"It was hard because it was literally just me and my baby in here. I didn't even realize I had postpartum. I feel like that's something you don't even realize when you're in it, you realize when you're exiting," she said.
This Black Maternal Health Week, Harris wants moms to know healthy living is within reach.
"If you get WIC use that, if you get Families First use that, or EBT use that," she said.
You can contact the wellness coach and culinary creator on Instagram @DarkRichIndigo.
