2023 -- S 0680

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING MARCH 14, 2023, AS "BLACK MIDWIVES DAY" TO SHED LIGHT ON

THE HISTORY, POLITICS, CULTURE, AND IDENTITY OF BLACK MIDWIFERY IN THE

CONTEXT OF A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT MATERNAL HEALTH, AND THE

IMPORTANCE OF MIDWIFERY CARE AS AN ESSENTIAL STRATEGY IN REDUCING

MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY AMONG BLACK BIRTHING PEOPLE

     Introduced By: Senators Mack, Cano, Lawson, Ujifusa, Picard, Murray, Sosnowski,
Euer, Lauria, and F. Lombardi

     Date Introduced: March 16, 2023

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, Recognizing the day of March 14, 2023, as “Black Midwives Day”

underscores the importance of midwifery in helping to achieve better maternal health outcomes

by addressing fundamental gaps in access to high quality care and multiple aspects of well-being;

and

     WHEREAS, The inaugural Black Midwives Day (BMD) campaign, founded and led by

the National Black Midwives Alliance in 2023, is a day of awareness, activism, education and

community building; and

     WHEREAS, This day is intended to increase attention for the state of Black maternal

health in the United States, the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes, and for community-

driven policy, program, and care solutions; and

     WHEREAS, In addition, BMD venerates the work and contributions of past and present

midwives who have served to usher in new life despite a history fraught with persecution,

enslavement, violence, racism and the systematic erasure of community Black midwives

throughout the 20th century; and

     WHEREAS, The decimation of midwifery across the Southern United States reduced the

numbers of Black midwives from thousands to dozens in a 50 year period from the 1920s to the

1970s, leaving many communities without care providers; and

     WHEREAS, The resurgence of Black midwifery is a testament to the resilience,

resistance, and determination of spirit in the preservation of healing modalities that are practiced

all over the world. The focus on holistic care, which involves caring for the whole person, family

and community, is what makes a difference in midwifery; and

     WHEREAS, Midwifery honors a birthing person’s right to bodily autonomy; can be

facilitated at home, in a birth center, or hospital; and works in tandem with doulas, community

health workers, obstetricians, pediatricians, and other health care providers; and

     WHEREAS, Black families benefit from access to Black midwives to receive culturally

sensitive and congruent care established through trust and respect; backed with the wisdom of

time honored technique and best practices; and

     WHEREAS, Black birthing people in the United States suffer from life threatening

pregnancy complications, known as “maternal morbidities”, twice as often as white birthing

people; and

     WHEREAS, Maternal mortality rates in the United States are among the highest in the

developed world, and increasing rapidly; and

     WHEREAS, These deaths have devastating effects on Black children and families, and

the vast majority is entirely preventable through assertive efforts to ensure Black birthing people

have access to information, services, and supports to make their own health care decisions

particularly around pregnancy and childbearing; and

     WHEREAS, The high rates of maternal mortality among Black birthing people span

across income levels, education levels, and socioeconomic status; and

     WHEREAS, Structural racism, gender oppression, and the social determinants of health

inequities experienced by Black birthing people in the United States significantly contribute to

the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity among Black birthing

people; and

     WHEREAS, A fair distribution of resources, especially with regard to reproductive

health care services, is critical to closing the racial disparity gap; and

     WHEREAS, Justice-informed, culturally congruent models such as midwifery care are

beneficial to Black birthing people; and

     WHEREAS, An investment must be made in robust, quality and comprehensive health

care for Black birthing people, and policies that support and promote affordable, holistic maternal

health care that is free from gender and racial discrimination: and

     WHEREAS, The National Black Midwives Alliance is campaigning for a Black

Midwives Day: To strengthen the base of Black midwives and their supporters;

     To preserve the cultural history of Black midwifery as an important part of the story of

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America;

     To provide advocacy tools that eliminate barriers to education and resources for Black

midwives;

     To build power by developing a national unified voice that advocates for Black

midwifery;

     To address perinatal health disparities that impact Black communities; and

     To elevate the consumer demand for access to midwifery and community birth; and

     WHEREAS, It is fitting and proper on Black Midwives Day to recognize the tremendous

impact of human rights, reproductive justice, and birth justice frameworks; and

     WHEREAS, Black Midwives Day is an opportunity to fight to end maternal mortality

locally and globally; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby believes that in order

to better mitigate the effects of systemic and structural racism, this body must work to ensure that

all Black people have access to midwives, doulas and other community-based, culturally-matched

perinatal health providers; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby proclaims March 14, 2023, to be “Black Midwives

Day” in the State of Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ms. Jamarah Amani, Director, National Black

Midwives Alliance.

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