Black Maternal Health Week and the California Black Women’s Health Project

By Raneisha StassinCalifornia Black Women’s Health Project California Black Women’s Health Project (CABWHP) is a statewide nonprofit committed to improving the health and wellness of Black women and girls through advocacy, education, outreach and policy. For 30 years, CABWHP has played a vital role in addressing health disparities, promoting wellness and uplifting the health and wellness of Black women, girls, families, and communities. We focus on addressing the social, systemic and structural determinants of health and our programs focus on a wide range of areas where Black women and girls face the most egregious health disparities including: maternal and reproductive health, mental health, COVID-19, violence prevention, aging and more. Supporting maternal and reproductive health continues to be a priority for our organization as Black women and birthing people are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. Black women and birthing people are also more likely to experience life threatening complications like preeclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, blood clots and preterm labor. Our Maternal and Reproductive health program was designed to spread awareness of these issues and work to address them. Through our programming, we highlight the importance of recognizing the impact of structural racism and bias in...