SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco policy leaders and community advocates are marking Black Maternal Health Week with a focus on improving outcomes for Black families.
The event at City Hall highlighted community-led solutions and policy initiatives to address disparities in maternal and infant health.
On Wednesday, colorful signs were displayed in support of Black mothers as community leaders, health care partners, and city officials gathered to bring awareness to the issue.
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“Happy Black Maternal Health Week!” said Supervisor Shamann Walton, representing District 10 in San Francisco.
Black medical doctors, like Katherine Brown, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF Health, spoke at the event.
“This week affirmed our ongoing commitment to birth justice and to reproductive liberation,” said Brown. “We are fighting for the right to give birth free from the fear of facing violence, trauma, and death.”
Leaders addressed both historical and ongoing disparities Black mothers face, particularly in San Francisco.
“We know that in San Francisco, far too many Black families experience disparities that Black infants make up 20% of all infant deaths while representing only 4% of births,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie.
Mayor Daniel Lurie says that’s why the city launched “Strong Starts,” a new effort to support families by improving social determinants like food security and housing.
“We will improve early connections to care, expand culturally responsive prenatal and post-partum services, strengthen and support,” said Mayor Lurie.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also shared a personal connection to the issue.
“In 2013, I gave birth to my first son, Justice, who was born prematurely and ultimately passed away, so for me, I know personally and deeply what this issue means and how significant it is,” Jenkins said.
Brittni Chicuata with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission said advocating for Black families is in her blood, and that the effort is focused on improving the livelihoods of Black women and Black children.
“Racism and discrimination play a consequential role in maternal health care experiences in outcomes of Black-birthing people and moms, not race,” Chicuata said.
Marlee with SisterWeb, a community doula network aimed at uplifting Black families, said Black mothers simply don’t have enough support, but raising awareness is the first step.
“Black Maternal Health week started because there is a special intersection when you have a womb, when you are Black, and when you are living in America in this westernized system of the medical industrial complex,” Marlee said. “There are implicit biases and racism that abounds in the labor room.”
The gathering is organized by SisterWeb and the UCSF Black Womxn’s health & livelihood initiative— in partnership with the San Francisco Department on the status of women, the Human Rights Commission, and city leaders including supervisors Myrna Melgar and Shamann Walton.
Black Maternal Health Week, held annually from April 11th through 17th, is a national campaign founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, aimed at building awareness, activism, and community engagement around maternal health and reproductive justice.