{"id":13135,"date":"2025-04-16T06:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/?p=13135"},"modified":"2025-04-16T06:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:38:14","slug":"family-warns-after-womans-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/2025\/04\/16\/family-warns-after-womans-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Warns After Woman’s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to a Tragic Loss<\/h2>\n

Arika Trim was the kind of daughter who made her family proud. She was a college graduate who worked for former first lady Michelle Obama, the House of Representatives and the American Hospital Association.
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\n\u201cShe was the most beautiful person, inside out. She had the biggest smile. She had the biggest heart. She cared for everyone,\u201d her mother, Donna Trim-Stewart, said.<\/p>\n

The Pregnancy and Its Complications<\/h2>\n

The Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland, resident was pregnant with her first child in June 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. At 30 weeks, she knew something was wrong.
\n\u201cOne day, she said she felt the baby was hardly moving, and she reached out to the doctors. They asked her to come to the hospital. She went to the hospital. They decided they would keep her, and she stayed there for a couple weeks,\u201d her mom said.
\n\u201cThen on June 16, she had the baby. They did an emergency C-section, and Djai was born. And it was another exciting, happy moment for us. They had him in the NICU and she had him on the Tuesday. And then they sent her home on the Friday,\u201d Trim-Stewart continued.
\nLittle Djai needed to stay in intensive care.
\n\u201cEvery day, we would go visit the baby, and then the Tuesday, we were getting ready to see the baby, and she had a little episode and one thing led to the next,\u201d she said. \u201cWe ended up in the ER and a couple hours after that, she was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cause of Death and Rising Concerns<\/h2>\n

Trim died of pregnancy complications at age 29.
\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data in February on pregnancy-related deaths. The numbers fell for white, Hispanic and Asians moms, but the mortality rate for Black women continued to rise.<\/p>\n

Arika Trim ‘did the right things’ but ‘somehow it still happened’<\/h2>\n

Trim did everything she could to keep herself and her baby healthy, her mom said.
\n\u201cShe was very, very informed about those things, and she took the necessary steps to ask the right questions, did the right things, you know, to try to avoid this situation. But somehow it still happened,\u201d she said.
\nTrim\u2019s brother, Travis Trim, misses his sister and best friend every day. The pain and fear of her death rushed back last year when he learned he and his partner were expecting. He said he felt afraid.
\n\u201cWhen we found out, it was very exciting, of course, finding that out, but it was just a time of us just trying to make sure we did everything right, knowing what happened with Arika,\u201d he said.
\nTravis Trim and his partner hired a doula.
\nDoula care in perinatal care is significantly correlated with positive delivery outcomes, including reduced cesarean and premature deliveries, a 2023 Nova Southeastern University study found.<\/p>\n

How the Trims are working to protect pregnant Black women<\/h2>\n

The Trim family is working to give more Black women access to doulas. They created the Arika Trim Foundation to educate Black women about the risks of maternal mortality and raise money for doula support.
\n\u201cLast year, we were able to sponsor our first mother with doula services. And that was, like, beyond words to be able to provide that support,\u201d Trim-Stewart said. \u201cThat has been really a game changer for us in saying the need is out there and we need to push.\u201d
\nAs the Trims raise Arika\u2019s son, who is now 5 years old, they continue to work to turn their forever pain into focused purpose.
\n\u201cFor Arika’s sake, the person Arika was, she wouldn’t want us just to, you know, let her death be in vain,\u201d her brother said.
\nTrim-Stewart urged others to protect Black mothers.
\n\u201cWe as a culture, we as a people, have to raise up and we have to fight,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are in the fight for our lives, for our children, for our grandchildren. Because like you just said, it’s improving in all other sectors but us. And this is what it\u2019s saying: Nobody will do it for us but us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

The story of Arika Trim highlights the critical issue of maternal mortality among Black women in the United States. Despite her best efforts to prioritize her health and the health of her baby, she fell victim to complications that could have been prevented with proper care and support. Her family\u2019s determination to honor her memory by advocating for better care and support for Black mothers is a testament to the power of love and resilience in the face of tragedy.<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/h2>\n