Reps. Adams, Underwood and Sen. Booker Introduce Black Maternal Health Week Resolution
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congresswomen Alma Adams, Ph.D. (D-NC-12) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), along with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced the bicameral resolution recognizing April 11 through April 17 as Black Maternal Health Week.
This resolution serves to bring national attention to the maternal health crisis in the United States and the critical need to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates among Black mothers.
“Our annual Black Maternal Health Week resolution says, unequivocally, that Black Moms matter,” said Congresswoman Adams, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. “This week is a time for us to raise awareness around the maternal mortality and morbidity epidemic Black mothers face and urge our Congressional and state leaders to take action. We need to see a real commitment from Congress to address this crisis, and I am dedicated to working with our Black maternal health advocates across the country to make that happen. Black mamas can’t wait!”
“Our country’s Black maternal health crisis demands urgent action,” said Congresswoman Underwood, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. “In 2019 I co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Congresswoman Alma Adams to respond to this crisis and advance evidence-based solutions that will save lives and end disparities. I'm thrilled to continue this work by introducing this resolution with Congresswoman Adams and Senator Booker to recognize Black Maternal Health Week 2026. I am thinking of the families and moms who have been impacted by this crisis like Mercedes Wells, Karrie Jones, and Dr. Janell Green Smith who we tragically lost, and I'm grateful to the Black Mamas Matter Alliance for their leadership in establishing this critical week of awareness and action. We must continue to elevate Black maternal health as a national priority, and we must pass the entire Momnibus.”
“It is unacceptable that Black women continue to face a maternal mortality rate two to three times higher than White women because of deep, systemic failures in our health care system,” said Senator Booker. “This resolution is not just about acknowledging the disparities Black women face. It is about recognizing that Congress must do more to protect the lives of Black mothers by addressing the structural barriers that drive them and ensuring that every mother has a safe and healthy pregnancy and the care they deserve.”
In the United States, Black women face a maternal mortality rate that increased to 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, even as rates declined for white, Hispanic, and Asian women. Yet studies show that 80% of all maternal deaths are preventable. The resolution calls on Congress to support and promote policies that address the ongoing Black maternal mortality crisis.
“2026 marks more than a decade of Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) building the skills, convening, and mobilizing the global Black perinatal, maternal, and reproductive health workforce to END maternal mortality. Over the past 10 years, BMMA has worked to establish the global Black Maternal Health Movement, centering the organizing and collaborative efforts of Black perinatal and maternal professionals. That is our midwives, our physicians, our doulas, our nurses, advocates, healing practitioners, and even artists. We have built this movement on the intellectual traditions of Black feminism, womanism, and the principles of reproductive justice and birth justice.” said BMMA, Inc. Co-Founder & Executive Director Angela D. Aina, who is also a 2026 TIME100 Health Honoree.
“As we launch our 9th annual Black Maternal Health Week, we do so rooted in both the weight of this moment and the joy of this movement,” Aina continued. “We are witnessing unprecedented attacks on Black families, on reproductive rights, and on the very institutions meant to protect our health and dignity. And yet, we remain rooted. Justice and joy are not separate — they are the foundation of everything we do. BMHW26 is a time for community rooted action in addressing maternal health inequities and ensuring that everyone, especially Black Mamas, receive the resources needed to thrive.”
The text of the resolution can be found here.
The resolution was cosponsored by 37 members of Congress.
Emilia Sykes
Mary Gay Scanlon
Shomari Figures
LaMonica McIver
Summer Lee
Jennifer McClellan
Julie Johnson
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Paul Tonko
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Alina Philip
Bennie G. Thompson
Yvette Clarke
Tim Kennedy
Ritchie Torres
Ayanna Pressley
Steve Cohen
Rashida Tlaib
Gregory W. Meeks
Joseph Morelle
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Ro Khanna
Nanette Barragan
Shontel Brown
Jonathan Jackson
Norma Torres
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Kelly Morrison
Sidney Kamlager-Dove
Josh Gottheimer
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Lateefah Simon
Sylvia R. Garcia
Robin Kelly
Andrea Salinas
Jahana Hayes
Ilhan Omar
You can read the full letter of support for the resolution by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance here.
The resolution has been endorsed by the following organizations:
BMMA, Inc. (Black Mamas Matter Alliance)
4Kira4Moms, Inc
A Better Balance
Abortion Care Network
Alabama Prison Birth Project
Alexis Alsup
All* Above All
American Association of Birth Centers
American College of Nurse-Midwives
Amplify Georgia Collaborative
Ancient Song, Inc.
Baobab Birth Collective
Black Feminist Future
Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective
Black Women for Wellness
Black Women's Health Imperative
Bloom Collective
California Black Women's Health Project
Center for Maternal Health Equity
Center for Reproductive Rights
Cherishing Life Beginnings Divine Mother Foundation LLC
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative
Commonsense Childbirth Inc.
Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, Inc.
Destiny S, WomBeyond Doula Services
Diversity Uplifts Inc.
Dr. Sayida Uplifts, LLC.
Dr. Zsakeba Henderson
DwanElani DBA Mermama Birthwork Services
Every Mother Counts
Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation
Frontera Fund
Frontline Doulas
Fund Texas Choice
Georgia Black Doula Network
Georgia Legislative Black Caucus
HEART
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda
InnerLight Holistic Doula & Perinatal Consulting, LLC
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Jamarah Amani, Southern Birth Justice Network
Janita Wiley, LMSW
Medical Students for Choice
Middle Georgia 4 Choice
Miraae Insights, LLC
MomsRising
Most Beautiful W.O.M.B. Inc
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
National Health Law Program
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National Partnership for Women and Families
New Voices for Reproductive Justice
Nicole Clark Consulting, LLC
Not On My Watch Consulting Partners
Okunsola M. Amadou, Qiana Lewis
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
Oshun Family Center
Our Justice
PEACE FOR MOMS
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Remnant Community Outreach, Inc.
Reproductive Freedom for All
Research!America
Sankofa Birthworkers' Collective of the Inland Empire
Shades of Blue Project
Sisters in Loss
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Board of Directors
SiX Action
SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!, Inc.
Speaking of Birth
Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity
Summit Medical Associates P.C.
Teonia Burton, LM CPM
The Melanated Mammary Atlas
The Social Justice Center
We Testify
Women Engaged
Women’s Health Specialists
MomsRising