Did you know April 11th marks the beginning of Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) 2025? BMHW serves to elevate the voices and experiences of Black pregnant and parenting women, families, and communities. The 2025 theme, “Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy,” expresses the importance of honoring the impacts of differences in healthcare access and quality that have spanned generations, while calling on us to continue working collectively and innovatively to build healthcare systems that support all mothers and babies.
In Virginia, where Black maternal mortality is more than 2x as high as that of white women, there is still a far way to go in ensuring that all mothers and babies have the best care and outcomes possible, regardless of their skin color. At the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative (VNPC), we remain committed to healing legacies through statewide initiatives that promote respectful, high-quality, and safe care for all.
This Black Maternal Health Week, we are proud to highlight ongoing efforts to advance maternal health through quality improvement, awareness, evidence-based practice, and collaboration.
- Expanding Perinatal Mental Health Support
Healing begins with acknowledgment and for too many, perinatal mental health challenges go unspoken and untreated. An NIH report found that as many as 44% of Black women experience symptoms of postpartum depression, yet a much smaller proportion are screened or receive mental healthcare due to a range of barriers. Through project SMILE, VNPC is working with over 20 birth hospitals across Virginia to improve perinatal mental health care. Our efforts include provider training, peer support models, and tools to normalize conversations about mental health during and after pregnancy.
- Elevating Awareness of Urgent Maternal Warning Signs with CDC Foundation
Timely recognition of urgent maternal warning signs can save lives. In partnership with CDC Foundation’s “Hear Her” campaign, we are raising awareness of urgent maternal warning signs, like severe headaches or shortness of breath, through our new podcast, Bear Hug Conversations. We are also working with healthcare partners to promote active listening, patient support and dissemination of educational materials. Our vision is that in empowering the public to recognize signs, maternal healthcare will be timelier, and outcomes will improve.
- Supporting Families Affected by Substance Use and Exposure
For pregnant women impacted by substance use disorder (SUD) and infants who were exposed to substances, fear or uncertainty around perceptions of people with SUD can stand in the way of care. Through Evidence-Based in the Dyad Care – SUD (EBDC – SUD) Virginia hospitals and birth facilities will implement quality improvement projects to encourage compassionate, high-quality care. EBDC-SUD participants learn best communications-practices and improve outcomes for mom-baby dyads affected by substance use disorder and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.
This Black Maternal Health Week, we also want to honor the work of other organizations and advocates in building a future where Black pregnant and parenting women thrive before, during, and long after birth. Check out a few initiatives currently in the works to improve black maternal health:
- The Shades of Blue Project, a Houston-based nonprofit focused on improving maternal mental health for Black and Brown pregnant and parenting women.
- Diversity Uplifts, Inc. is a non-profit organization that serves pregnant women, children and families through advocating for an increasing cultural competence among providers.
- Sisters in Loss is a maternal health education organization that serves to empower Black women in helping them process and heal from pregnancy and infant loss.
- Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association is a nonprofit that works to improve rates of breastfeeding by supporting Black families through education, advocacy, and culturally competent care.
- The Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) founded and leads BMHW. BMMA improves Black maternal health by advocating for policy change, supporting research, promoting evidence-based holistic care, and uplifting the voices of Black pregnant and parenting women.
- Urban Baby Beginnings is a non-profit maternal hub that offers a wide range of support services and education to pregnant and parenting women.
- Birth in Color is a non-profit organization that offers non-medical services and educational programming to women who are pregnant or parenting, with an emphasis on supporting women of color.