Underwood, Adams Host Second Annual Black Maternal Health Caucus Summit

WASHINGTON— Today, Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Alma Adams (NC-12), founders and co-chairs of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, convened more than 100 organizations working to address the Black maternal health crisis for a virtual stakeholder summit. The summit served as an opportunity for members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus and a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss the importance of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, introduced in March and led by Underwood, Adams, and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), which builds on existing maternal health legislation with nine new bills to comprehensively address every dimension of the Black maternal health crisis. Additionally, Caucus stakeholders described their advocacy efforts and their recommendations for the Caucus.

"Over the past year, we have made unprecedented progress to advance life-saving policies to save moms' lives and tackle glaring racial disparities in maternal mortality.And, we have seen momentum on the Momnibus even more recently as the House Veterans' Affairs Committee included my bipartisan bill, the Protecting Moms Who Served Act, in a legislative hearing – the first step to becoming law," said Underwood. "But we cannot rest until we've gotten legislation signed into law to ensure that moms can access the care and support they need before and during their pregnancies, throughout labor and delivery, and for the full yearlong postpartum period and beyond."

"For me – like countless others who are dedicated to this effort – this issue is deeply personal. My focus on Black maternal health began when my daughter survived a complicated pregnancy that almost claimed her life and the lives of my grandchildren. I knew when I got to Congress, I had to make this a priority. Black mothers are needlessly dying during what should be one of the most joyous times of their lives. So it's absolutely critical that we provide mothers and birthing persons the support they need – before, during and after pregnancy," said Adams.

Full video of the Black Maternal Health Caucus Stakeholder Summit can be found here.

The following Members of Congress participated in today's stakeholder summit: Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Barbara Lee (CA-09), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Kim Schrier (WA-08), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Judy Chu (CA-27), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and David Trone (MD-06).

The following organizations provided live remarks in today's stakeholder summit: The Century Foundation (Dr. Jamila Taylor), National Birth Equity Collaborative (Dr. Dawn Godbolt), March of Dimes (Stacey Stewart), Black Mamas Matter Alliance (Angela Aina), Center for American Progress (Jamille Fields Allsbrook), 4Kira4Moms (Charles Johnson), Mamatoto Village (Aza Nedhari), and Center for Reproductive Rights (Jennifer Jacoby).