Held annually on April 11-17th, Black Maternal Health Week is a week-long campaign founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to build awareness, activism, and community-building to amplify the voices, perspectives and lived experiences of Black Mamas and birthing people.
The New York Women’s Foundation celebrated Black Maternal Health Week by spotlighting the efforts of our grantee partners to advance maternal health and dismantle inequities, particularly for Black women and birthing people. This week provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the unique challenges—and potential solutions—faced by Black mothers during all stages of the maternal journey: preconception, pregnancy and childbirth, and post-partum.
Preconception
Through health equity research, reproductive justice advocates have found that quality, accessible health supports before pregnancy can foster positive outcomes for pregnant mothers and their children. By investing in interventions to expand reproductive options before pregnancy and improve quality of healthcare for marginalized communities, The Foundation seeks to support Black maternal health before conception to achieve a future where all mothers and children thrive.
The Foundation supports a training partnership between One Brooklyn Health hospital system and reproductive justice leader, Loretta Ross, to develop a healthy calling-in culture and reduce racial inequities in medical care across the hospital system that can optimize health for Brooklyn Black mothers before pregnancy.
The health and wellbeing of mothers and pregnant people in New York City are crucial for strong communities, yet the City’s health outcomes for pregnant people of color are some of the most troubling. Black Cis women are 8 times more likely than white Cis women to die from pregnancy complications, surpassing national averages. In recent years, we have seen increased conversation between communities of Black mothers, maternal health advocates, and health equity researchers about the need for safe and respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce the disparity in pregnancy-related deaths.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
Our grantee partners remain committed to supporting Black mothers and pregnant people during their pregnancy and childbirth process. Movement for Family Power, is a Black-led movement organization that works to end the policing and punishment of families. Centering Black mamas, MFP builds the capacity of directly impacted leaders and grassroots organizations to abolish the family policing system and to create a world where all families can thrive.
MFP is a founding member of the New York Informed Consent Coalition, which seeks to “promote trust between healthcare providers and birthing people, improve maternal and infant health outcomes, and support racial and reproductive justice by ensuring that no pregnant person or newborn is subjected to a drug test or screen without their informed consent.”
The New York Women’s Foundation was proud to attend the New York Informed Consent Coalition’s recent workshop at the Beyond the Bars conference, held by the Center for Justice. Led by The Foundation’s grantee partners, Movement for Family Power, The Bronx Defenders, and Pregnancy Justice, the workshop led community members through the history and racially disparate impact of child protective services (also known as family policing system) and the coalition’s work that impacted parents and caregivers, birth justice practitioners, and legal advocates are leading to ensure that New York medical settings prioritize parents’ and families’ well-being, bodily autonomy, and support, instead of policing.
Photos of jasmine Sankofa (case sensitive spelling) from Movement for Family Power, A. Zoè Russell from The Bronx Defenders, Miriam Mack from Bronx Defenders, Lauren Wranosky from Pregnancy Justice, and Joyce McMillan from JMacForFamilies, fellow grantee partner who also spoke at the conference.
Postpartum
The path to maternal health justice does not end at childbirth: health equity research points to the often-overlooked challenges mothers may face with depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges after pregnancy and throughout parenthood. Public health data shows that Black mothers present higher rates of these health challenges than other communities, often due to chronic stress and trauma from enduring racial and gender discrimination across their lifespan.
To support Black mothers in their parenting journey, grantee partner Rise offers post-partum and parenting support. Led by mothers impacted by the child welfare system and majority Black and Latinx, Rise creates peer support networks for impacted mothers to heal from past traumas, care for each other and offer holistic peer support that can help prevent maternal depression or anxiety.
Black Maternal Health Week reminds us that every mother’s life matters. By acknowledging the disparities, advocating for change, and empowering Black mothers, we can work towards a future where maternal health is truly equitable for all.
For The Foundation and our grantee partners, maternal health equity and reproductive justice continue to be core aspects of our work to create a future where all women, girls, and gender-expansive people can thrive. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join us in elevating, investing in, and celebrating the tireless effort of these grantee partners beyond Black Maternal Health Week by attending the 2024 Celebrating Women Breakfast on May 8.