Black Mamas Are Not a Statistic. 80% of Their Deaths Are Preventable.
Dear Sisters,
Black Maternal Health Week (April 11–17) is more than an education and awareness campaign. It is a demand for action rooted in justice and joy. Justice for our sisters, robbed of the joy that childbirth brings.
Here are the cold, hard, and UNACCEPTABLE facts:
For every 100,000 babies born in America, 50 Black mothers die — compared to just 14 white mothers. Black women are losing their lives in childbirth at nearly three and a half times the rate of white women — and it is getting worse, not better. While maternal death rates went down for every other group in 2023, they went up for Black women. And the part that grates my cheese is that more than 80% of those deaths could have been prevented.
It starts before pregnancy even begins. Black women are more likely to struggle to get pregnant than white women — but are 70% less likely to ever get help for it. When they do pursue treatment like IVF, they are more likely to experience miscarriage and less likely to have a successful birth.
During pregnancy, the dangers multiply. Black women develop life-threatening high blood pressure conditions — including preeclampsia, which can cause seizures and organ failure — at rates that lead to death five times more often than white women. Black babies are also born too early at a rate more than 50% higher than white babies, putting them at serious risk for lifelong health challenges.
The care system itself is part of the problem. One in eight Black women has no health insurance at all — nearly double the rate for white women. And nearly one in three Black women reports being dismissed, ignored, or disrespected by medical staff during childbirth. That is not a bad day at the hospital. That is a pattern.
After birth, the crisis continues. As many as 44 out of every 100 Black mothers experience depression or anxiety after giving birth — but most never receive any mental health care. Black mothers also breastfeed at lower rates than any other group in the country — not by choice, but because of a system that has consistently failed to support them.
And reproductive rights restrictions are making everything worse. As of January 2026, 41 states have abortion bans in effect. The structural barriers Black women already face — limited insurance, fewer providers, less economic flexibility — mean these restrictions hit them harder than anyone.
None of this is a coincidence. And none of it is inevitable.
Here’s how you can act — right now.
We are calling on every member of our WE CAN community to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to support the Momnibus Act, reintroduced in March 2026 by Representatives Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams, with Senator Cory Booker leading in the Senate. This package of 14 bills addresses every part of this crisis — from funding community health organizations and growing a more diverse medical workforce to expanding mental health care, protecting Medicaid, and supporting breastfeeding mothers.
In solidarity,
Dr. Stephanie, WE CAN Founder
You Were Made for This: Become a WE CAN Action Team Leader! | April 23rd ~ 7:00 – 8:00pm
In this one-hour session, you’ll learn how to build your own Action Team, mobilize your community for real policy change, and put WE CAN’s campaigns and resources to work for the causes that matter most to you. And your Action Team can be any group of women you’re already connected with — your book club, sorority, faith community, or favorite group of friends. If you’re already gathering, you’re already halfway there!