The Urban Institute collaborated with the National Birth Equity Collaborative, a national nonprofit organization that creates solutions that optimize Black maternal and infant health, to produce a research brief that centers Black expertise, experiences, and voices in the Black maternal health crisis. In this brief, we share findings from informant interviews and established research recommendations to provide policy and programmatic strategies for addressing maternal health disparities both in DC and nationally.

Though no single policy solution will solve this public health crisis, the Urban Institute suggests the following as ways to begin addressing the Black maternal health crisis:

  • Address racism within the health care system.
  • Increase access to Black-led community-based providers.
  • Create accountability mechanisms to better understand why Black mothers die at a higher rate than white mothers.
  • Center Black women’s leadership by passing comprehensive maternal health legislation.

Read the full article about improving Black maternal health at the Urban Institute.