The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation. The crisis facing Black mothers is even starker: Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. This startling disparity is partly what drove Angela Doyinsola Aina to co-found Black Mamas Matter Alliance in 2016. “We wanted to be able to define the solutions we know can end maternal mortality for Black women,” including addressing structural racism in healthcare, improving access to high-quality and patient-centered maternal care, and supporting Black midwives, doulas, and other reproductive-health professionals, she says. Since its founding, BMMA, an alliance of Black women-led reproductive-health organizations and professionals, has mobilized global support, fundraised, and helped craft and push legislation to improve Black maternal health, such as the historic Momnibus Act, which has yet to pass at a federal level but has inspired several states to enact laws related to maternal health. The alliance also founded Black Maternal Health Week, a public-health campaign held every April 11-17 that was officially recognized by the White House in 2021. In 2025, 15 U.S. states introduced official resolutions recognizing the campaign.
