RESOURCES
Learn more about the issues presented in BIRTHING JUSTICE and find out how you might help.
Equity Program
Black Maternal Health Equity & Cultural Competency Programming Initiative
With your participation, we plan to transform the culture of care and medical treatment for Black and Brown women where America’s medical inequities have turned giving birth into a battlefield for too many women and their babies.
Organizations
Black Women's Health Imperative
BWHI is the first and only national non-profit solely dedicated to achieving health equity for Black women in America. BWHI has evolved into a nationally recognized organization leading health policy, education, research, knowledge and leadership development and communications designed to improve the healthy outcomes of Black women.
Bicycle Health
For new parents currently undergoing medically assisted treatment to overcome opioid addiction, deciding whether or not to breastfeed during treatment educational guide to breastfeeding and OUD treatment.
Birth Injury Center
Birth injuries can transform the celebratory moment of a child’s birth into a lifelong nightmare that includes serious health complications, permanent disability, or death. The Birth Injury Center provides support and resources to families that have been impacted by birth trauma.
Quilted Health
Quilted Health mission is to build and champion a model for
equitable access to
compassionate, evidence-
based, whole-person
pregnancy care.
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
A professional association that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNM) and certified midwives (DM).
Black Girls’ Breastfeeding Club
Promotes breastfeeding and informed infant feeding decisions among Black women through research, education, resources and by centering the breastfeeding experiences of Black mothers.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA)
A national network of Black women-led and Black-led birth and reproductive justice organizations and multidisciplinary professionals who work across the full spectrum of maternal and reproductive health.
Black Maternal Heath Caucus
Elevating the Black maternal health crisis within Congress and advancing policy solutions to improve maternal health outcomes and end disparities. Launched by Congresswomen Alma Adams and Lauren Underwood.
Black Women Birthing Justice
A grassroots collective of Black women and individuals across the African diaspora committed to transforming birthing experiences for Black women and birthing people.
Black Women for Wellness
Committed to the health and well-being of Black women and girls through health education, empowerment and advocacy.
The Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute (Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital)
Optimizing quality care for women across the life span and narrowing gaps in treatments and outcomes in underserved populations.
Center for Black Women’s Wellness
A premier, community-based, family service center committed to improving the health and well-being of underserved Black wmen and their families.
Community of Hope’s Family Health and Birth
The Center includes a nationally accredited Birth Center and provides a range of healthcare services for entire families, with a special focus on serving pregnant parents and their babies.
Every Mother Counts (EMC)
Working to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere, by raising awareness, investing in solutions and mobilizing action.
Feminist Women’s Health Center
Provides safe, affordable and compassionate abortion and reproductive healthcare to all who need it without judgment.
Jamaa Birth Village
Provides culturally congruent traditional midwifery care for families, including midwifery and doula care, perinatal mental health support, breastfeeding education, holistic therapies, childbirth education and family support services.
Mamatoto Village
Devoted to serving Black women through the creation of career pathways in maternal health; and providing accessible perinatal support services designed to equip women with the necessary tools to make the most informed decisions in their maternity care, parenting and lives.
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
Uniting, strengthening, supporting and advocating for the midwifery community.
Moms Rising
Rising – A network of people taking on the most critical issues facing women, mothers and families; educating the public and mobilizing grassroots actions to build a more family-friendly America.
Morehouse School of Medicine’s Center for Maternal Health Equity
Part of an independent and private historically Black medical school, the Center is researching the causes and issues behind health inequity among pregnant and postpartum Black women in the US.
Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness Act (MOMMA’s Act, 117th Congress, 2021-2022)
Introduced by Senator Richard Durbin to improve Federal efforts with respect to the prevention of maternal mortality, and for other purposes.
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
A powerful, collective voice for certified professional midwives, NACPM directs its influence toward improving outcomes for all childbearing people and their infants, investing in a strong racially, ethnically and socially representative CPM workforce.
National Association to Advance Black Birth (The NAABB)
A powerful, collective voice for certified professional midwives, NACPM directs its influence toward improving outcomes for all childbearing people and their infants, investing in a strong racially, ethnically and socially representative CPM workforce.
National Black Equity Collaborative (NBEC)
Working for birth equity for all Black birthing people by assuring the conditions of optimal births for all people with a willingness to address racial and social inequities in a sustained effort.
National Black Doulas Association (NBDA)
Helping fight the Black maternal mortality and morbidity rate through educational development and multi-level doula training, and by connecting birthing families with Black doulas.
Sista Midwife Productions
A birth advocacy organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana, that provides education, training and consultations for communities, birth workers and organizations that work with child-bearing families. Offers a comprehensive online directory of Black birth workers.
SisterLove
A birth advocacy organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana, that provides education, training and consultations for communities, birth workers and organizations that work with child-bearing families. Offers a comprehensive online directory of Black birth workers.
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
Dedicated to building an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities.
UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative
Conducts and funds research across the reproductive life course, domestically in California and globally in East Africa.
Books & Reports
Battling Over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Health Care Crisis in California
by Chinyere Oparah, Linda Jones, Dantia Hudson, Talita Oseguera and Helen Arega
Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth
edited by Julia Chinyere Oparah and Alicia D. Bonaparte
Infants of mothers with higher physiological stress show alterations in brain function
by Sonya v. Troller-Renfree, et al., Developmental Science (March 31, 2020)
The impact of a poverty reduction intervention on infant brain activity
by Sonya V. Troller-Renfree, et al., The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (January 24, 2022)
Apps
bEarth Work App
App – Offers online courses, taught by Black birth experts, on lactation, childbirth education and pregnancy. Developed by Ayanna Robinson.
Irth App
Prenatal, birthing, postpartum and pediatric reviews of health care providers. Developed by Kimberly Seals Allers.
MeetMae.com
Pregnancy and postpartum support, tailored to the needs of Black women.
Black Doula Locator
Pregnant or postpartum mamas can locate Black Doulas from around the country.
City Resources
Black Infants & Families
A coalition united to address the unacceptably high rates of Black infant and maternal deaths in Los Angeles County.
