In the 1940s, my grandmother nearly died giving birth to my uncle. Everyone in my family knows the harrowing story about the near-fatal experience while in labor of our beloved madear, Agusta. She had no access to prenatal care in the small Texas town she called home. Ultimately, when the time came for her to deliver, she had to be hospitalized in critical condition at a place where months before she was refused care because she was Black.
All these years later, I worry that my daughters, now in their late teens and early twenties, might also have a dangerous birthing experience.
Why?
This is a problem that can be solved, and we have seen some progress
The American Rescue Plan allowed states to expand postpartum health coverage for new mothers for a full year. And in late November, President Biden signed the Protecting Moms Who Served Act into law — it will help provide veterans with the world-class maternal health care they, and all mothers, deserve.
But it’s not nearly enough.
We are asking Congress to pass the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which includes 12 bills that would address our country’s maternal health crisis by growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce, funding community-based maternal health organizations, addressing social determinants of health, improving data collection and maternal mental health care, and investing in digital tools to improve maternal health.
We need it all, and we need it now
For me and so many in the Black community, learning that a loved one is pregnant brings trepidation as well as joy. We’re thrilled for the mom-to-be and her family. But our happiness is tinged with an ever-present fear about whether she and her baby will survive and thrive after the birth.
Let’s all tell Congress that meaningful progress to protect Black women and babies is long overdue.
Monifa Bandele is Chief Strategy Officer at MomsRising.
