•HRES 231 IH 
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 
access to midwives, doulas, and other community-based, 
culturally matched perinatal health providers: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 231 IH 
(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 
and training, increased access to Black preceptors, 
removing barriers and restrictions to said precep-
tors, providing financial pathways to support stu-
dents and preceptors, and mentorship programs that 
focus on promoting and sustaining Black midwifery 
and removing barriers related to accreditation by 
recognizing midwives 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 the authorization or reauthoriza-
tion of funding for TRICARE and Medicaid cov-
erage of maternity care provided by midwives of all 
training pathways; 
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•HRES 231 IH 
(6) encourages Federal, State, and local govern-
ments to take active steps to destigmatize and de-
criminalize midwifery pathways in the pregnant per-
son’s setting of choice, including their homes, birth 
centers, clinics, or health units; and 
(7) 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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