Black mothers deserve safe, dignified, and supported births.
The Black Futures for Perinatal Health is a Black and woman-led collaboration of reproductive justice advocates, educators, and birth workers. We seek to expand Birth Justice for those most vulnerable to adverse maternal health outcomes. and to offer holistic strategies for patient centered care. We do this through supporting, research, power-building, and cultural transformation. Our work is informed through a local context of birth workers, to address the maternal outcomes in this country. We are committed to honoring reciprocity, strengthening, and amplifying the collective voice within a cross-sectoral framework.
The Reality We Are Changing
Black birthing people continue to face some of the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the country. These outcomes are not inevitable. They are rooted in systems that have not centered care, dignity, or cultural understanding.
Families deserve more than survival. They deserve to be supported, respected, and held throughout their birthing journey.
Black women experience 2-3 times the maternal mortality rate of white women and double the rates of low-weight births, premature births, and infant mortality, regardless of socioeconomic status. Efforts to close these gaps include initiatives by community birth workers and healthcare professionals. In Oregon, 53% of pregnancy-related deaths from 2018-2020 were preventable, with 41% involving substance use disorders. In 2021, the Black infant mortality rate was 2.2 times the state rate, and preterm birth rates were highest in Jackson, Lane, and Multnomah Counties, with increases in Lane, Marion, and Washington Counties.
Closing the Gap One Birth at the Time a Oregon
The preterm birth rate in Oregon was 9.0% in 2023, higher than the rate in 2022. The annual societal economic cost (medical, educational, and lost productivity) associated with preterm birth in Oregon is an estimated $64,000. When causes of death related to preterm birth are grouped together, preterm-related causes account for 32.6% of infant deaths in Oregon.
In 2022, CDC reported 4.48 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in Oregon. This report also shows that 37.6 % of people who give birth are unmarried, 29.1% deliver with a Cesarean procedure, 8.71% of births are preterm.
In Oregon this amount spent with preterm birth was nearly $240 million dollars. Studies in California and in the US have reported that preterm birth and major morbidities can generate great costs for hospitals and patients.
Our Approach
We advance Black maternal health through four core pillars:
Direct Service: We are currently building towards a culturally responsive holistic perinatal and postpartum care through the planning and development of a community-rooted Birthing Village.
Advocacy: Shaping policy to expand access and equity, including advancing the Momnibus and maternal health legislation in Oregon.
Research: Producing community-led knowledge to inform solutions and guide systems change
Cultural Transformation: Shifting narratives, practices, and systems of care through storytelling and community-centered initiatives like Push: Black Mamas Changing the Culture of Birth