Celebrating Black Maternal Health Week 2023!
From April 11-17th 2023 we joined many organizations around the US in celebrating Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW)! BMHW is a week-long campaign created 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 theme this year was Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy!, which was very timely given the recent changes in the maternal health landscape. Each day was filled with many different activities and conversations designed to amplify the voices of Black birthing people, but the most exciting event for us that week was Black Maternal Health Advocacy Day (BMHAD).
The day began with a virtual town hall where we learned about the state of maternal health in Louisiana and heard from some of our state lawmakers about the maternal health bills they are sponsoring. Outside of lawmakers, we also had the opportunity to hear the lived experiences of Kaitlyn Joshua and Nancy Davis, who both had to navigate a complicated maternal health landscape during one of the most devastating moments of their lives. For context, in Louisiana, Black women are 2-3 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related or pregnancy associated death than white women. 31.3% of the state is also considered to be a maternity care desert. This means that a portion of birthing people in our state do not have access to OB/GYNs or midwives. Additionally, the reproductive healthcare climate that birthing people must navigate has become increasingly hostile in the past year, adding another layer to this complex issue. There are many bills this session and a few can provide solutions to the issues mentioned above, such as SB 135 and HB 272, which seek to increase Medicaid reimbursement for licensed midwives and require private insurance coverage of doula support services, respectively.
BMHAD is a call for direct policy action on issues impacting the health of Black birthing people in Louisiana. April 10th marked the beginning of the Louisiana Legislative Session and there are many bills to watch related to maternal health outcomes. To learn more about the bills presented this session click here.
After the town hall we headed to Baton Rouge for a press conference at the Capitol. While there we urged our lawmakers to support bills that aim to address the maternal health crisis that disproportionately impacts Black birthing people. Many different advocacy groups were present and it was a beautiful show of support for birthing people in Louisiana.
We’re hopeful that our lawmakers will put the health of birthing people in our state first, and we will continue to advocate for and uplift the voices of birthing people!
Below are a few examples of posts we shared throughout BMHW. You can click here to view our IWES Instagram page to see all posts, including more information on how we’ve brought back our #ThisIsWhy campaign, this time to hear from you about what your experience was like with a doula! Email Iman if you want to share your story!
Click here to learn more about our Maternal and Child Health division, which works to improve maternal and infant mortality and morbidity through community engagement, advocacy, policy change, and meaningful collaborations.