#BlackMamasMatter virtual events May 10 & 12 will address Black maternal health crisis

Following this year’s Mother’s Day, two virtual events May 10 and 12 will address the Black maternal health crisis and how Black mothers are at disproportionate risk for postpartum complications.

The online events will be hosted by Northwestern University’s Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) and the DuSable Museum of African American History, in collaboration with the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. 

American moms are dying at the highest rate in the developed world, according to CHET. Black women in particular face the growing effects of systemic disparities on Black women’s bodies, such as a disproportionate number of Black women dying from preventable postpartum morbidities.

“As we celebrate Mother's Day this year, we recognize that maternal health is more than just family planning and reproductive health — it is about birth justice, an upstream, trauma-informed framework that calls for collective action to build intersectional solutions that address the disparate maternal morbidity and mortality gap that exists for Black womxn,” said CHET founder and director Dr. Melissa Simon, vice chair for research in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. 

The May 10 panel, moderated by Simon, will focus on the impact of medical racism on Black women.  

The May 12 panel, moderated by chief equity officer for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office, Candace C. Moore, will consider how to bridge the gaps in health policy. 

Both panels will discuss the current issues Black moms face and will explore actionable steps to address health barriers. 

More information on each panel, including registration links, can be found on the CHET website.