Black Maternal Health Caucus

Last updated
Black Maternal Health Caucus
FoundedApril 9, 2019;5 years ago (2019-04-09)
Headquarters Washington, D.C., USA
Political position Multi-partisan congressional caucus (Mission: "The Black Maternal Health Caucus aims to raise awareness within Congress to establish Black maternal health as a national priority, and explore and advocate for effective, evidence-based, culturally-competent policies and best practices for health outcomes for Black mothers."
Seats in the House
111 / 435
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Website
blackmaternalhealthcaucus-underwood.house.gov

The Black Maternal Health Caucus is a caucus made up of mostly African-American members of the United States Congress. [1] Congresswomen Alma Adams of North Carolina and Lauren Underwood of Illinois founded the caucus in April 2019 and currently serve as co-chairs. [2] [3]

Contents

Purpose

The Black Maternal Health Caucus was founded to 'improve black maternal health outcomes,' with the founders citing statistics that the United States has the worst maternal death rates in the developed world, at 18 death per 100,00 live births, and with a higher rate among black women, at 40 deaths per 100,000 live births. [4] [5]

History

Shortly after the formation of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, Senator Kamala Harris sponsored the Maternal CARE Act. [6] If passed, the Maternal CARE Act would serve to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by providing implicit bias training as a solution for addressing racial bias in health care.

As of 2019, seventy-five members of the United States House of Representatives belong to the caucus, including support from Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and other leaders within the Democratic caucus. [7]

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States highlighted racial disparities in healthcare. Many Black women requiring hospitalization were dying at alarming rates compared to other racial groups. [8]

In 2021, an updated Momnibus was introduced. Sponsoring members of the House of Representatives of include: Sheila Jackson Lee, Nikema Williams, and Jamie Raskin. [9] The term "Momnibus" is a word play on "omnibus," which is a single bill submitted to a legislature that combines several diverse matters.

Legislation

In March 2020, Lauren Underwood introduced the Momnibus Package, "which would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publicly post data on COVID-19 and pregnancy, disaggregated by race and ethnicity". [10] In May 2023, the legislation, consisting of 13 individual bills, was endorsed by over 200 organizations and Black maternal health advocates, including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, March of Dimes, Christy Turlington Burns, and Christine Michel Carter. [11]

Membership

Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th United States Congress Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th Congress.svg
Black Maternal Health Caucus in the 118th United States Congress

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Minutaglio, Rose (2019-04-12). "Black Mothers Are Dying At Alarming Rates. Rep. Lauren Underwood Wants Congress to Do Something About It". ELLE. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  2. ↑ "Congresswomen Adams and Underwood Launch Black Maternal Health Caucus". Congresswoman Alma Adams. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  3. ↑ Frazin, Rachel (2019-04-09). "Dem lawmakers form Black Maternal Health Caucus". The Hill . Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  4. ↑ "House forms first Black Maternal Health Caucus". ThinkProgress . 9 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  5. ↑ America, Good Morning. "Female lawmakers launch 1st Black Maternal Health Caucus". Good Morning America. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  6. ↑ Harris, Kamala D. (2019-05-22). "Text - S.1600 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Maternal CARE Act". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  7. ↑ "Black Maternal Health Caucus Celebrates Passage of Priorities in Appropriations Bill". Representative Lauren Underwood. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  8. ↑ "In Q&A, VP Harris calls for urgent action on the Black maternal health crisis". STAT. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  9. ↑ "Black Maternal Health Momnibus". Black Maternal Health Caucus. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  10. ↑ "Lawmakers to Reintroduce Sweeping Maternal Health Bill". Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.
  11. ↑ "Black Maternal Health Momnibus". Black Maternal Health Caucus. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
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