Why are we debating this… again?
A new lawsuit. A familiar distraction. And why we’re staying focused on the work
First, it was Affirmative Action. Then DEI and the Fearless Fund. Now the reverse racism train is coming for maternal health.
This week, as Black Maternal Health Week came to a close, a new (infuriating but unsurprising) headline began circulating.
SO, THIS HAPPENED
Erica Jimenez, a white mother from Pasadena, alleges she was denied entry into the state’s Black Infant Health (BIH) program, a long-standing initiative created to address disproportionately high rates of maternal and infant mortality among Black families. The lawsuit argues that the program’s race-conscious eligibility criteria violate federal law.
The details of the case will play out in court. But the conversation it sparked was immediate and all too familiar.
At a moment when the disparities are well-documented, when new data indicates that maternal health outcomes have improved for every other racial group except for Black women, and when targeted solutions are finally gaining traction, somehow the focus has been hijacked once again.
Away from the data.
Away from impact.
Away from the Black women who are still 3 - 4 times more likely to die during and after childbirth.
The conversation is shifting backwards again towards the question of whether Black women even deserve access to the very solutions designed to keep us from dying.
This tension — between what we know and what we’re willing to protect — is exactly why this work cannot lose momentum
WE REFUSE TO LOSE THE PLOT
While we plan to keep our eyes close to this unfolding story, we refuse to allow it to hijack our focus. Because we have work to do. Work that improves the lives of all birthing people.
And yes, in case you were wondering, for the record: birthFUND was built to serve families and mothers of all backgrounds. But we will never deny the blatant disparities that over-index in Black communities. Nor will we turn our backs on what that means for this work.
Which is why we started Black Maternal Health Week grounded in something more steady: community.
There were a couple hundred people there, many of whom knew about birthFUND: families, birth workers, advocates, expecting mothers, all moving through the space with intention. We connected with five-time Olympic medalist, Sanya Richards-Ross. Ross served as one of the event’s MCs and has been a visible and vocal supporter of maternal health equity through her platform, MommiNation. We met midwives, doulas, and representatives from Morehouse School of Medicine, who were on site offering health screenings and resources in real time.
But what stood out most were the quieter moments. Conversations with expecting mothers who had never heard of birthFUND before and immediately understood why it mattered. Birth workers sharing what they’re seeing on the ground. People asking questions, leaning in, wanting to know what options actually exist for them.
It may seem counterintuitive to open a week grounded in crisis with celebration, but that tension is exactly the point. This work is heavy. It’s shaped by loss, by injustice, and by systems that continue to fail Black women at disproportionate rates.
And still, we gather in joy. Because gathering is how we remember, how we honor, and how we build
AND STILL, WE CHOOSE JOY
This year’s Black Maternal Health Week theme, led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, is “Rooted in Justice and Joy.” Justice is essential. It is the foundation of this work. But joy is the fruit of it.
Joy is not separate from the movement; it’s a measure of our success. It’s what becomes possible when care is aligned, when autonomy is respected, and when families are supported in ways that honor their full humanity.
But Black Maternal Health Week exists because of stories that should never have been written. Stories like that of Kira Johnson, whose life was lost shortly after the birth of her son after a routine C-section at Cedars Sinai in 2016, despite her repeated pleas for help.
Her husband, Charles Johnson, has since transformed that unimaginable loss into one of the most powerful advocacy movements in this space. Through 4Kira4Moms, he has ensured that Kira’s story is not only remembered, but mobilized. This movement exists because of families who have chosen to turn pain into pressure, grief into action, and silence into accountability.
THIS IS WHAT’S AT STAKE
If you’ve been following along this week, you’ve already seen us teasing the return of MaterniTea, our conversation series where we unpack what we wish every family knew before having a baby and what no one tells you about maternal health in America.
If you haven’t watched this week’s Substack Live, here’s why you should.
During our live conversation, Dr. Neel Shah, one of the country’s foremost OB’s and maternal health experts who has worked diligently to decrease C-section rates, shared something that stopped us in our tracks. His reflections on Kira and Charles Johnson’s story is a reminder that behind every headline, every data point, every policy debate, there are real families living with the consequences of a system that was set up for emergencies but far too often is responsible for creating them. (Full recap coming soon.)
This is the kind of nuance, honesty, and perspective we’re bringing into MaterniTea as we bring the series to Substack Live. Huge thank you to Maven Clinic and Neel Shah, MD for helping us kick off this next chapter with such a thoughtful and necessary conversation.
TWO YEARS OF DOING THE WORK
As you know if you read our debut article, this week, we also marked our two-year anniversary milestone by launching this very Substack, a space designed for deeper storytelling, for nuance, and for building a community that is not just informed, but activated.
And if you’ve been on this journey with us, you know birthFUND was created not to simply raise awareness about the maternal mortality crisis, but to actively expand access to models of care that are already working to solve it.
Over the past two years, we have deployed millions directly to families and midwives, and supported hundreds of families in accessing safe, dignified, and empowering birth experiences.
THIS PART MATTERS, TOO
As we close out this week, we are holding multiple truths at once:
The urgency of what must change, and the possibility of expanding solutions that already exist.
The stories that brought us here, and the stories we are still working to create.
The work ahead is significant, but so is the momentum behind it.
And perhaps most importantly, so is our vision.
What became clear again throughout the week is that awareness alone is not enough.
Outrage, while valid, is not sufficient.
Join us in our movement to make safe, empowered birth possible today.
If this resonated, share it.
We’re building something here, and the only way it grows is if you help us get it in front of the people who need it.
TAKE THIS WITH YOU!
We’re ending each post with something you can take with you.
This week, it’s the Black Maternal Health Week playlist, created in the spirit of this year’s theme: Rooted in Justice and Joy.
Press play when you need a reminder of both.