IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1083 

Recognizing the longstanding and invaluable contributions of Black midwives 

to maternal and infant health in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2024 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mrs. MCBATH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the longstanding and invaluable contributions 

of Black midwives to maternal and infant health in the 

United States. 

Whereas recognizing the day of March 14, 2024, 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; 

Whereas the Black Midwives Day campaign, founded in 2023 

and led by the National Black Midwives Alliance, establishes Black Midwives Day as a day of awareness, activism, education, and community building; 


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•HRES 1083 IH 

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 policies, programs, and care solutions; 

Whereas the United States is experiencing a maternity care 

desert crisis in which 2,200,000 women of childbearing 

age live in maternity care deserts where they do not have 

access to hospitals or birth centers offering maternity 

care or obstetric providers; 

Whereas maternity care deserts lead to higher risks of maternal morbidity and mortality as most complications occur 

in the postpartum period when birthing people are far 

away from their providers; 

Whereas incorporating midwives fully into the United States 

maternity care system would reduce maternal health disparities and help to address the maternity care desert crisis; 

Whereas, despite the medicalization of childbirth in the 

United States, the maternal mortality rates in the United 

States are among the highest in the high income countries, increasing rapidly, and disproportionately higher 

among Black birthing people; 

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; 

Whereas these deaths have devastating effects on Black children and families, and the vast majority are entirely preventable through assertive efforts to ensure Black birthing people have access to information, services, and supVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Mar 15, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1083.IH HR1083

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ports to make their own health care decisions, particularly around pregnancy and childbearing; 

Whereas the high rates of maternal mortality among Black 

birthing people span across income levels, education levels, and socioeconomic statuses; 

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; 

Whereas Black birthing people are more likely to report experiences of disrespect, abuse, and neglect when birthing in 

facility-based settings as compared to White people; 

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 techniques and best practices; 

Whereas the work and contributions of past and present midwives have ushered in new life have done so despite a history fraught with persecution, enslavement, violence, racism, and the systematic erasure of traditional and lay 

Black midwives throughout the 20th century; 

Whereas the decline of midwifery across the southern United 

States reduced the numbers of Black midwives from 

thousands to dozens during the 20th century, leaving 

many communities without care providers; 

Whereas some States have criminalized and suppressed direct-entry midwives, despite rising maternal mortality 

rates across the United States; 

Whereas the resurgence of Black midwifery is a testament to 

the resilience, resistance, and determination of spirit in 


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the preservation of healing modalities that are practiced 

all over the world; 

Whereas the focus on holistic care, which involves caring for 

the whole person, family, and community, is what makes 

a difference in midwifery; 

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 

maternal, reproductive, and perinatal health care providers; 

Whereas the Midwifery Model of Care has been proven to 

have better pregnancy outcomes through preventing infant mortality and morbidity, lowering preterm births, reducing medical interventions, and providing the birthing 

person continuous support; 

Whereas, in 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (referred to in this preamble as 

‘‘CERD’’) of the United Nations expressed concerns regarding the impact of systemic racism and intersecting 

factors on access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for women, and the limited availability of culturally sensitive and respectful maternal 

health care, particularly for those with low incomes, rural 

residents, individuals of African descent, and Indigenous 

communities; 

Whereas CERD recommended that the United States further 

develop policies and programs to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the field of sexual and reproductive 

health and rights, while integrating an intersectional and 

culturally respectful approach in order to reduce the high 


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rates of maternal mortality and morbidity affecting racial 

and ethnic minorities, including through midwifery care; 

Whereas, in 2023, the Human Rights Committee of the 

United Nations expressed similar concerns as CERD and 

further recommended that the United States take measures to remove restrictive and discriminatory legal and 

practice barriers to midwifery care, including those affecting Black and Indigenous peoples; 

Whereas a fair distribution of resources, especially with regard to reproductive health care services, is critical to 

closing the racial disparity gap; 

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; 

Whereas it is fitting and proper on Black Midwives Day to 

recognize the tremendous impact of the human rights, reproductive justice, and birth justice frameworks on protecting and advancing the rights of Black birthing people; 

Whereas Black Midwives Day is an opportunity to acknowledge the fight to end maternal mortality locally and globally; 

Whereas maternal health is intractably linked to infant health 

and the United States infant mortality rate rose 3 percent from a rate of 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live 

births in 2021 to 5.60 infant deaths per 1,000 live births 

in 2022, the largest increase in the infant mortality rate 

in two decades; and 

Whereas Congress must mitigate the effects of systemic and 

structural racism, to ensure that all Black people have 


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access to midwives, doulas, and other community-based, 

culturally matched perinatal health providers: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) encourages Federal, State, and local govern3 ments to take proactive measures to address racial 

4 disparities in maternal health outcomes by sup5 porting initiatives aimed at diversifying the perinatal 

6 workforce, increasing access to culturally congruent 

7 maternal health care; 

8 (2) commits to collaborating with relevant 

9 stakeholders to develop and enact policy solutions 

10 that promote health equity, address systemic racism, 

11 and support the advancement of Black midwifery; 

12 (3) calls for increased funding for education, 

13 training, and mentorship programs that focus on 

14 promoting and sustaining Black midwifery across all 

15 training pathways; 

16 (4) encourages Federal and State governments 

17 to authorize the autonomous practice of all midwives 

18 to the full extent of their training; 

19 (5) promotes TRICARE and Medicaid coverage 

20 of maternity care provided by midwives of all train21 ing pathways in the pregnant person’s setting of 

22 choice; and 


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1 (6) supports and recognizes the longstanding 

2 and invaluable contributions of Black midwives to 

3 maternal and infant health in the United States. 

Æ 


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