Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021

Black mothers are dying at THREE TIMES the rate of white women in the United States.  To address this important issue, members of Congress, led by the Black Maternal Health Caucus, have introduced a series of bills to comprehensively address every aspect of the Black maternal health crisis.

The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act includes a series of 12 bills to save moms’ lives and end racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus is composed of nine individual bills sponsored by Black Maternal Health Caucus Members. The legislation will:
  1. Make critical investments in social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, and nutrition.
  2. Provide funding to community-based organizations that are working to improve maternal health outcomes and promote equity.
  3. Comprehensively study the unique maternal health risks facing pregnant and postpartum veterans and invest in VA maternity care coordination.
  4. Grow and diversify the perinatal workforce to ensure that every mom in America receives culturally congruent maternity care and support.
  5. Improve data collection processes and quality measures to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis in the United States and inform solutions to address it.
  6. Support moms with maternal mental health care conditions and substance use disorder.
  7. Improve maternal health care and support for incarcerated moms.
  8. Invest in digital tools like telehealth to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved areas.
  9. Promote innovative payment models to incentivize high-quality maternity care and non-clinical support during and after pregnancy.
  10. Invest in federal programs to address the unique risks for and effects of COVID-19 during and after pregnancy and to advance respectful maternity care in future public health emergencies.
  11. Invest in community-based initiatives to reduce levels of and exposure to climate change-related risks for moms and babies.
  12. Promote maternal vaccinations to protect the health and safety of moms and babies.
The Momnibus, put forward by the Black Maternal Health Caucus, has the potential to be transformative for Black maternal health because it goes beyond addressing maternal death and helps to advance maternal health equity. By centering black women-led organizations like BMMA in the process, this package takes a proactive approach to addressing many of the systematic public health challenges, workforce development issues, and everyday experiences of Black birthing persons before, during, and after pregnancy. Thank you to the Black Maternal Health Caucus for prioritizing the needs of those most impacted by the maternal health crisis in the United States. - Angela Aina, Interim Executive Director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance