Contact: Mollie Michel, [email protected], 718.536.6336
WHAT: A virtual congressional briefing to discuss how climate change is impacting health outcomes of pregnant women and babies, and how Black mothers are disproportionately affected by these health impacts.
This virtual Hill briefing will include presentations from health professionals, maternal health researchers, and advocates who will highlight how climate change impacts maternal health, particularly among BIPOC. They will offer solutions to ending racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes and achieving maternal health justice.
Recently, leaders in Congress introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 (H.R. 959/S. 346) in order to address uneven health outcomes among birthing people of color.
The package includes a stand-alone bill, led by Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Senator Ed Markey (MA), focused on mitigating the impacts from climate change on moms and babies. Their Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act (H.R. 957/S. 423) invests in community-based programs and calls for the identification of climate risk zones for pregnant and postpartum people. This bill is a historic step to end America’s maternal mortality crisis and achieve maternal health justice while addressing some of the grave health impacts of climate change on pregnant people.
In advance of today’s briefing, a number of participants and supporters have issued statements found further below.
WHY: The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world and the only rate that continues to rise. The maternal mortality rate is significantly higher among Black women, who are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Other birthing people of color, including Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, also suffer from disproportionately high rates of adverse maternal health outcomes.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 26, 4:00-5:00 PM ET
WHERE: Via Zoom
HOW: This event is open to congressional staff and members of the media. Please register HERE today. Registration is on a rolling basis.
WHO:
Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Lead House Sponsor of the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act
Senator Ed Markey (MA), Lead Senate Sponsor of the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act
Dr. Rupa Basu, PhD, MPH, Chief, Air and Climate Epidemiology Section, California EPA/Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
Dr. Noelene Jeffers, PhD, CNM, IBCLC, researcher and Certified Nurse Midwife, National Association to Advance Black Birth
Kineta Sealey, Esq., Policy Counsel, Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI)
Sara Brafman, Director of the DC Office and Senior Policy Counsel, A Better Balance
Tesia Buckles, community advocate, A Better Balance, from Missouri
Dr. Camille Clare, MD, MPH, CPE, FACOG, Chair, District II (New York), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Moderated by Molly Rauch, Public Health Policy Director, Moms Clean Air Force
PARTICIPANT/SUPPORTER STATEMENTS:
“Communities of color are hardest hit by health impacts from climate change. The Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act is focused on mitigating the impacts from climate change on moms and babies by investing in community-based programs and calls for the identification of climate risk zones for pregnant and postpartum people. Moms Clean Air Force applauds Representative Underwood and Senator Markey for prioritizing the health of Black mothers and for recognizing climate change as the serious health threat that it is. We now urge Members of Congress to join in this effort to make racial inequities in pregnancy and childbirth a thing of the past,” said Trisha Dello Iacono, National Field and Legislative Manager, Moms Clean Air Force.
“As nurses we strongly support the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act,” stated Katie Huffling, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and a nurse-midwife. “The causes of the high maternal mortality rates experienced by Black women in this country are complex, but we know that unless we address the environmental exposures that will only increase as climate change worsens, we will not be able to adequately address the maternal health disparities faced by far too many women in this country. This act is a great step in addressing maternal health inequities in the United States.”
“The science is clear: climate change, and in particular, extreme heat, air pollution, and natural disasters, will have disastrous effects on maternal health outcomes, with low-income people and people of color bearing the brunt of the impact,” says Osub Ahmed, a senior policy analyst with the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress. “This maternal health bill tackles the threats posed by climate change by providing pregnant and postpartum people, community-based organizations, and health care providers with the resources and supports they need to prepare for a new climate future. We urge Congress to act now and pass this bill to safeguard the health and well-being of pregnant and postpartum people.”
“Pregnant workers across the country in low-wage and physically demanding jobs—disproportionately women of color—often work in harsh conditions and face exposure to stifling heat combined with few supports to protect them from that heat. As the climate crisis threatens to worsen an already devastating maternal health crisis, it is more important than ever to ensure that this country has strong protections in place like the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act so pregnant workers can mitigate exposure to heat on the job and protect their health and the health of their pregnancy,” said Sarah Brafman, Senior Policy Counsel & Director of the DC Office, A Better Balance.
“I am excited to join Senator Ed Markey for this important conversation about the impacts of extreme heat, air pollution, and other environmental risks on health outcomes and disparities. Senator Markey and I are committed to advancing our Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act to invest in community-based programs to identify climate change-related risks for pregnant and postpartum people and their infants, provide families with necessary support, and mitigate exposure to these environmental risks—particularly in communities of color. We are grateful for the strong support of the organizations hosting this briefing to raise awareness about this urgent issue and build momentum to get the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act signed into law,” said Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14).
“Climate change threatens pregnant people and children across the country, with poor mothers and children and Black mothers and children paying the highest price,” said Senator Ed Markey (MA). “We need the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act to help provide our health care workforce and families with the resources and tools they need to protect themselves against the risks of the climate crisis. Climate justice is racial and economic justice, and our mothers, babies, and communities need us to deliver on these basic rights.”
HOSTED BY: A Better Balance, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Center for American Progress, Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, Human Rights Watch, Moms Clean Air Force, National Birth Equity Collaborative, Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health