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RFLC Blog

Advancing Black Maternal Health Policies Across the States

We know that racism at the institutional, structural, and interpersonal levels — both historically and present day — drives disproportionate maternal health outcomes for Black birthing people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, compounding the barriers faced by Black, brown, and indigenous communities.

More specifically, due to systemic racism, social factors, and biases within the health care settings, Black women are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complications than white women.

Because the maternal mortality crisis in the United States operates at the individual and systemic levels, policy responses must cover a range of strategies.

State legislators and staff, click here to join SiX Repro and Center for Reproductive Rights for a cross-state strategy session of state legislators to support advancing Black maternal health policies in the states.

This webinar is designed for state legislators and legislative staff at any point in the process of advancing Black maternal health policies in their states.

The webinar will include:

  • a panel discussion with Charles Johnson, Dr. Jamila Taylor, and Massachusetts Representatives Liz Miranda and Kay Khan, and
  • breakout sessions where legislators will be able to strategize in identity caucuses about Black maternal health in their states: what has worked, what are the barriers, and how to overcome those barriers.

By the end of this webinar attendees will be able to:

  • Explain the need for passing meaningful Black maternal health policies in their state;
  • Apply Black maternal health research to improve policies in their state;
  • Identify 3 legislators across the country who are advancing Black maternal health policies; and
  • Design strategies for advancing Black maternal health policies.
 

For a comprehensive resource on the Black maternal health crisis, including an overview of the supporting research, download the Black Mamas Matter Alliance Toolkit.

Read the Black Mamas Matter Alliance Research Working Group’s recommendations for  ‘Black Maternal Health Research Re-Envisioned: Best Practices for the Conduct of Research With, For, and By Black Mamas.’

Take a look at the National Birth Equity Collaborative’s National Birth Equity Agenda.