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