Governor Proclaims Black Maternal Health Week

Black Maternal Health Week

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, the rates of severe maternal morbidity, unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in negative consequences to a woman’s health, are higher for Black women than the rates for women of all other racial/ethnic groups; the preterm birth rate among Black women is 14.3 percent higher than the North Carolina baseline of 10.7 percent; and

Whereas, North Carolina has a Perinatal Health Strategic Plan to address healthy equity, improve maternal and infant health, and improve the overall health and wellness of people of reproductive age; and

Whereas, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services established a Maternal and Infant Health Data Dashboard to show trends, racial/ethnic inequities, maternal age, maternal education, and geographical differences for a variety of important health indicators describing maternal risk factors, characteristics, and birth outcomes, and disaggregate data by race/ethnicity, among other demographic factors; and

Whereas, in 2022, North Carolina Medicaid expanded coverage to include a full year of postpartum coverage to women receiving Medicaid, increasing it from just 60 days previously; and

Whereas, throughout the week of April 11-17, 2025, local health departments and community-based organizations will celebrate Black Maternal Health Week with community meetings, social media campaigns, and educational sessions in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health, Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section; and

Whereas, the Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section collaborates with partners across North Carolina to improve maternal morbidity and mortality rates in North Carolina, including initiatives to support group prenatal care, educate perinatal providers and consumers on maternal warning signs during the 12 weeks after giving birth, and encourage review of maternal death records by the Maternal Mortality Review Committee; and

Whereas, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee develops recommendations to reduce pregnancy-related deaths, and improve screening, treatment, and referral for maternal mental health and substance use disorders through the NC Maternal Mental Health MATTERS program; and

Whereas, these programs also focus on raising awareness of the state of Black maternal health in North Carolina and work to ensure that pregnant and postpartum women in North Carolina have access to safe and quality prenatal and postpartum care, as women who have access to perinatal and mental health providers and who give birth in the appropriate level birth facility have better birth outcomes and experience fewer maternal morbidities or “near misses” after birth;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April 11-17, 2025, as “Black Maternal Health Week” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-sixth day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.