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ports to make their own health care decisions, particu-
larly around pregnancy and childbearing; 
Whereas the high rates of maternal mortality among Black 
birthing people span across income levels, education lev-
els, 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 con-
tribute to the disproportionately high rates of maternal 
mortality and morbidity among Black birthing people; 
Whereas Black birthing people are more likely to report expe-
riences of disrespect, abuse, and neglect when birthing in 
facility-based settings as compared to White people; 
Whereas Black families benefit from access to Black mid-
wives 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 mid-
wives have ushered in new life have done so despite a his-
tory fraught with persecution, enslavement, violence, rac-
ism, 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 di-
rect-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 pro-
viders; 
Whereas the Midwifery Model of Care has been proven to 
have better pregnancy outcomes through preventing in-
fant mortality and morbidity, lowering preterm births, re-
ducing medical interventions, and providing the birthing 
person continuous support; 
Whereas, in 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Ra-
cial Discrimination (referred to in this preamble as 
‘‘CERD’’) of the United Nations expressed concerns re-
garding the impact of systemic racism and intersecting 
factors on access to comprehensive sexual and reproduc-
tive health services for women, and the limited avail-
ability 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 eth-
nic 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 meas-
ures to remove restrictive and discriminatory legal and 
practice barriers to midwifery care, including those af-
fecting Black and Indigenous peoples; 
Whereas a fair distribution of resources, especially with re-
gard 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 ma-
ternal health care that is free from gender and racial dis-
crimination; 
Whereas it is fitting and proper on Black Midwives Day to 
recognize the tremendous impact of the human rights, re-
productive justice, and birth justice frameworks on pro-
tecting and advancing the rights of Black birthing people; 
Whereas Black Midwives Day is an opportunity to acknowl-
edge the fight to end maternal mortality locally and glob-
ally; 
Whereas maternal health is intractably linked to infant health 
and the United States infant mortality rate rose 3 per-
cent 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) encourages Federal, State, and local govern-
ments to take proactive measures to address racial 
disparities in maternal health outcomes by sup-
porting initiatives aimed at diversifying the perinatal 
workforce, increasing access to culturally congruent 
maternal health care; 
(2) commits to collaborating with relevant 
stakeholders to develop and enact policy solutions 
that promote health equity, address systemic racism, 
and support the advancement of Black midwifery; 
(3) calls for increased funding for education, 
training, and mentorship programs that focus on 
promoting and sustaining Black midwifery across all 
training pathways; 
(4) encourages Federal and State governments 
to authorize the autonomous practice of all midwives 
to the full extent of their training; 
(5) promotes TRICARE and Medicaid coverage 
of maternity care provided by midwives of all train-
ing pathways in the pregnant person’s setting of 
choice; and 
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(6) supports and recognizes the longstanding 
and invaluable contributions of Black midwives to 
maternal and infant health in the United States. 
Æ 
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