Bill Text: VA SJR23 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Black Maternal Health Week; designating as April 11-17, 2024, and each succeeding year thereafter.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-28 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ23ER) [SJR23 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SJR23-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, the National Black Maternal Health Week campaign, founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, strives to raise awareness and facilitate activism and community building; and
WHEREAS, Black Maternal Health Week serves as a national platform for Black women-led entities and other members of the diaspora to enhance community organization on Black maternal health via community conversations, events, and outreach; as well as efforts on maternal health, birth equity, and reproductive justice, through the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice; and
WHEREAS, Black Maternal Health Week is intended to increase awareness about the Black maternal health crisis in the United States, the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes, community-driven policies and programming, and care solutions; and
WHEREAS, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) indicated that in 2021 the United States had one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the nation's history: a 40 percent increase from 2020; and
WHEREAS, maternal mortality rates in the United States are among the highest in the developed world and are increasing, according to the CDC; and
WHEREAS, between 2011 and 2018, the maternal mortality rate in Virginia was two times higher for Black and other women of color than that of white women (55.0 vs. 24.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, respectively) and Virginia is among the top 10 states for highest maternal mortality in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Black women in the United States suffer from life-threatening pregnancy complications, known as maternal morbidities, twice as often as white women, and Black women are 55 percent more likely than all other women to deliver prematurely; and
WHEREAS, the disproportionate mortality rate of Black mothers is a significant factor in the high maternal mortality rate in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the high rate of maternal mortality among Black birthing people is consistent across all income, education, and socioeconomic levels; and
WHEREAS, these deaths have devastating effects on Black birthing people, children, and families, and the vast majority are entirely preventable through assertive efforts to ensure Black birthing people can access information, birth worker services, and supports to make their own informed health care decisions, particularly around pregnancy and childbearing; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative to create equitable access to prevention, early identification, and effective treatment services that are delivered in a culturally informed care setting for existing trauma and chronic health conditions to effectively improve maternal health among Black birthing people; and
WHEREAS, a fair distribution of resources, especially with regard to reproductive health care services and maternal health programming, is critical to closing the racial disparity gap in maternal health; and
WHEREAS, maternal mental health has been listed by the CDC as a leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related death, but even with growing concern about improving access to mental health services, Black birthing people are least likely to have access to mental health screenings, treatment, and support before, during, and after pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, Black midwives, doulas, perinatal health workers, community-based organizations, and other birth workers provide holistic maternal care in spite of facing structural and legal barriers to licensure, reimbursement, and provision to provide care; and
WHEREAS, community-based models of perinatal care offer enhanced support throughout the pre-pregnancy to postpartum spectrum, including through doula and midwifery childbirth services, to birthing people who face barriers to care; and
WHEREAS, it is critical to improve access to dignified, high-quality maternal health care across the Commonwealth by expanding access to doula care services for birthing people who are both publicly and privately insured and increasing low Medicaid reimbursement rates for maternity care services performed by obstetrician-gynecologists; and
WHEREAS, in addition, midwives can fill important gaps to eliminate maternity-care deserts and provide life-saving care for mothers and a healthier start for babies; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, Birth in Color RVA commemorated Black Maternal Health Week with a proclamation from Mayor Levar Stoney for the City of Richmond, and in 2020, the organization received a proclamation on the occasion of Black Maternal Health Week from Governor Ralph Northam; and
WHEREAS, Black Maternal Health Week provides an opportunity to raise statewide awareness about the maternal health crisis in the Black community and the importance of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity among Black birthing people throughout the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly designate April 11 through April 17, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Black Maternal Health Week in Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Black Mamas Matter Alliance so that members of the organization may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it
RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate post the designation of this week on the General Assembly's website.
