April 11-17 is Black
Maternal Health Week

Black Maternal Health Week was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance in order to raise awareness and amplify solutions to improve Black maternal health in the United States. The campaign is especially important to us as some areas along Maryland's Eastern Shore are considered to be maternity care deserts. Research shows that 73.6% of women in non-metro areas across Maryland live over 30 minutes from a birthing facility compared to 1.2% of women living in metro areas. Moreover, mamas that we surveyed on the Shore expressed an overwhelming need for improvements to maternal health care. Challenges shared included rushed prenatal appointments, rotating providers, lack of postpartum support, and unaffordability of additional supports.