Midwife Dr. Janell Green Smith Was a Tireless Advocate for Women — With a Tragic Outcome

All across the world and throughout history, there is no time in a woman's life that presents as much danger as when she is pregnant and laboring to birth a baby. The risks of pregnancy-related health conditions are compounded by the very real and present danger of what can go wrong during delivery. Even in the United States, maternal mortality is a sobering reality.

Doctors like beloved midwife Janell Green Smith work hard every day to improve outcomes for women, especially women of color, who face significantly higher risks of death in pregnancy or childbirth. But Janell's story came to a tragic end at the start of 2026. Here's what we know about what happened to her as she leaves behind a legacy of advocacy and excellence.

Being a medical professional when you deal with a health condition is a mixed blessing. You know what you're up against, so you're better prepared to handle anything that might go wrong. On the other hand, you also know everything that could go wrong, which means there's always that fear.

Janell's passion was her career in nursing and midwifery.

On social media, the 31-year-old documented moments in her life, sharing advocacy videos about the reality of maternal death and her desire to improve outcomes.

But all came to a heartbreaking end when Janell passed away on Jan 2., 2026.

The legacy she leaves behind is one of courage and education, as well as empathy. On her social media, multiple former patients left messages of love and gratitude, praising the way she worked to improve maternal outcomes for her patients and raise awareness in the medical community and among people.

Perhaps most tragically of all, Janell died after giving birth to her first child. Although there are no confirmed reports of her cause of death, a GoFundMe set up to help her family cover her memorial costs referred to her passing as the result of "complications of childbirth."

This heartbreaking reality was highlighted by Janell herself in a video where she explained her reasons for becoming a midwife. Citing a statistic from a 2020 study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which found that non-Hispanic Black women die in childbirth (55.3 deaths per 100,000 deliveries) more than non-Hispanic white women (19.1 deaths per 100,000), Janell shared her motivation: "Black women are three times more likely to die in pregnancy and in childbirth than any other race. In hearing these alarming statistics, I wanted to do something about it."

She added, “I would like to tell all Black mothers all over the world that I see you, I salute you, I honor you, and your midwife will always support you.”

And judging by the grateful outpouring of condolences on her social media, her patients salute her right back. One user wrote, "She delivered my baby and stayed with me for 40 hours and was my angel during the darkest hours."

Another user wrote, "I owe you everything. She’ll be 1 in 2 weeks, and I never forgot the amazing words of encouragement you gave me during my delivery."

One Instagram user added, "I’m so sorry that the system you worked to improve and save lives failed to save yours. Your life was precious, and you helped so many people."

Although she is gone, Janell's legacy may inspire a new wave of medical professionals who can work to fight the grim reality of maternal deaths in the United States, especially among Black women.