Community
Advocates: Calif.’s Maternal Health Blueprint Ignores Systemic Racism, Community Solutions
Black mothers in California experience a maternal mortality rate that is three times above the state average. The California Coalition for Black Birth Justice Co-Founder and Executive Director Dana Sherrod said although Black women have higher rates of chronic conditions going into pregnancy, the root cause of their high maternal mortality rate is racism.
By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media
Black mothers in California experience a maternal mortality rate that is three times above the state average.
The California Coalition for Black Birth Justice Co-Founder and Executive Director Dana Sherrod said although Black women have higher rates of chronic conditions going into pregnancy, the root cause of their high maternal mortality rate is racism.
“When all things are equal when we look at protective factors — education level, healthy weight, marital status — they aren’t as protective for Black women,” she explained.
“We see Black women without pre-existing conditions, who have protective factors and are still fairing worse — having worse birthing outcomes, added Sherrod.
To reduce the maternal mortality rate for all women in the state, particularly Black women, California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos unveiled the California Maternal Health Blueprint and announced the Strong Start & Beyond movement in September.
The 20-page blueprint serves as a strategic framework for improving reproductive and maternal health by cutting the maternal mortality in the state by 50% by December 2026. The blueprint also calls for reproductive-aged individuals to understand the health risks they could encounter in future pregnancies by completing a questionnaire over the next 25 months.
In her announcement, Ramos highlighted that the best way to ensure a newborn’s health is to ensure the health of the mother.
“By leveraging powerful partnerships and pioneering cutting-edge solutions,” she said, “we can help California mothers, pregnant people, and newborns have a strong start and healthy future.”
Late last month though, Sherrod, and various health advocates and experts — midwives, doulas, physicians, and community organizations — sent a six-page letter to Ramos urging her to delay actions the blueprint recommends due to concerns they have about omissions and oversights in the document.
Sherrod says moving forward with the blueprint as it is may “cause harm” to Black and Indigenous communities.” She says there are shortcomings in the document’s development process, and its analyses blame individuals for health challenges rather than addressing systemic failures.”
“Black women, in particular, have been pushing against these harmful narratives for years, and this feels like a significant step backward,” Sherrod said.
Members of the collective met with Ramos, according to Sherrod, but the surgeon general seemed to be moving forward with the blueprint.
“We are hoping to have an open dialogue to redirect some of the strategies in the blueprint,” Sherrod said.
In an email to California Black Media last week, the Office of the California Surgeon General expressed its commitment to engaging the community to enhance existing programs that support new mothers during the postpartum period.
“The immediate opportunity for the community lies in the fact that over 62% of maternal deaths occur after delivery, when the mom is at home and in the community,” the statement read. “Community resources will be the bridge between the healthcare system and the pregnant person and new moms.”
“The most impactful action in reducing maternal mortality among Black mothers is for local community programs serving Black mothers to cross collaborate with other state and local communities and existing programs to increase awareness of resources for mothers before, during, and after pregnancy,” the office said.
