WASHINGTON— While giving birth brings many mothers joy, there’s a sobering statistic that lingers over Black mothers during that time.
According to the CDC, they’re three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
And while there was quite a bit of momentum in Washington this time last year around addressing the issue between a newly formed caucus and a list of targeted legislation, a divided Congress, a Republican in the White House, and a pandemic got in the way.
Now, Rep. Gwen Moore, (D-Milwaukee) believes a new session and administration could push Washington closer to declaring Black moms matter.
“We are very very excited about the ‘momnibus’ being rolled out,” said Rep. Moore. “When President Biden and [Vide President] Harris talk about equity, there's no better place to start in equity, than at birth.”
The package dubbed the "momnibus" aims to make healthcare for women of color more equitable.
The nine maternal health bills included in the package invests in the following.
“Those are our nurses, physician's assistants, but also things like doulas, and midwives,” said Rep. Moore about her legislation focusing on perinatal workers. “Because we believe that it's really important to give women support throughout their pregnancy, through their deliveries, and after their deliveries.”
Madison-area doula Tamara Thompson is cautiously optimistic.
“The expectation is that there will be action or legislation that sheds light on what I do and the people that I serve,” said Thompson. So that’s a step in that direction but there’s always room for more inclusion.”
The complicated concern for Thompson is the increase in resources could phase out independent maternal health workers like her in favor of larger health systems. She hopes, if this package makes it to the President’s desk, it won’t include much red tape.
“For some people, the threat or the danger is the increasing professionalization of our work. And the more package-able it becomes to the medical model of care, the more it doesn't resemble that anthropological kind of starting place of something being very ancestral and traditional," said Thompson.