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From the desk of ... Katie Martin
Honoring Black Maternal Health Week
Too many Black women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth. Black women in the United States are more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than women in any other race group. It’s unacceptable.
Black women-led organizations have been sounding the alarm on this crisis, including with this year’s Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW), April 11 through April 18. Founded and led by Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), BMHW is amplifying the voices of Black mamas, women, families and stakeholders on the issue. The National Partnership is proud to support this important work. Here are some ways to get involved in BMHW, courtesy of BMMA:
- Show your support on social media. BMMA offers sample tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts and engaging shareable images here. Plan to join the BMHW finale tweet chat on Tuesday, April 17 at 3:00 p.m. ET using #BMHW18, #BlackMaternalHealthWeek and #BlackMamasMatter.
- Attend a local event. Click here to find a local BMHW event if you live in California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio or Texas.
- Learn more. Join BMMA’s webinar on Monday, April 16 at 12:00 p.m. ET to hear about the unique challenges facing Black/African immigrant and undocumented women, and what’s needed to help more Black and immigrant women access quality and equitable care.
BMHW is an important opportunity to learn about the persistent, systemic barriers – including racism and sexism – that contribute to poor maternal health outcomes for Black women.
We are committed to working with our partners to end preventable maternal deaths in this country and eliminate racial disparities in women’s health. As part of this work, we are releasing a new fact sheet and an issue brief that offers a multi-faceted approach to improving Black maternal health. The issue brief focuses on advancing evidence-based policy options that can reduce Black maternal mortality, reduce disparities in maternal health complications, increase access to high-quality maternity care, and ensure that Black women can access the reproductive health care (including contraceptive and abortion care) that meets their needs.
Visit BMMA’s website to learn more about the work Black-women-led organizations are doing to push for reproductive justice and birth justice.
