PRINTER'S NO. 955
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 117
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY MAYES, CURRY, CEPHAS, HOHENSTEIN, HILL-EVANS,
WAXMAN, MADDEN, VENKAT, KHAN, KENYATTA, KAZEEM, N. NELSON,
D. MILLER AND ABNEY, MARCH 13, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, MARCH 13, 2025
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing March 14, 2025, as "Black Midwives Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Black midwives have made longstanding and invaluable
4 contributions to maternal and infant health in Pennsylvania; and
5 WHEREAS, Recognizing March 14, 2025, as "Black Midwives Day"
6 amplifies the significance of midwifery in achieving better
7 maternal health outcomes by creating greater access to high-
8 quality maternal health care, especially in maternal health
9 deserts; and
10 WHEREAS, The "Black Midwives Day" campaign, founded and led
11 by the National Black Midwives Alliance in 2023, is a day of
12 awareness, activism, celebration, education, advocacy and
13 historical preservation; and
14 WHEREAS, "Black Midwives Day" is an opportunity to
15 acknowledge the fight to end maternal mortality in Pennsylvania;
16 and
17 WHEREAS, In 2020, the pregnancy-related mortality ratio for
 1 Black women in this Commonwealth was almost three times greater
2 than the pregnancy-related mortality ratio for White women; and
3 WHEREAS, High rates of maternal mortality among Black women
4 are consistent among socioeconomic statuses and education
5 levels; and
6 WHEREAS, Maternal morbidities have devastating effects for
7 families and communities, and 93.5% of pregnancy-related
8 maternal deaths that occurred in this Commonwealth in 2020 were
9 deemed preventable; and
10 WHEREAS, A lack of access to quality, affordable health care
11 and postpartum care, delays in the recognition of risks and
12 complications associated with pregnancy, systemic discrimination
13 and implicit bias contribute to the high mortality rate among
14 Black women; and
15 WHEREAS, Black communities are also among those most affected
16 by maternity care deserts, where there is a lack of maternity
17 health care resources and no hospitals, birth centers or
18 providers offering obstetric care; and
19 WHEREAS, Other pregnancy complications, including chronic
20 heart disease, hypertension, preeclampsia, hemorrhage and
21 diabetes, also disproportionately affect Black women; and
22 WHEREAS, Black women are more likely to experience
23 mistreatment by health care providers, such as being ignored or
24 denied care in a reasonable amount of time; and
25 WHEREAS, The practice of midwifery is built upon a
26 relationship-centered approach between the midwife and the
27 pregnant woman, with an emphasis on the pregnant woman's
28 autonomy; and
29 WHEREAS, Increasing the number of Black midwives in the
30 workforce is critical to addressing maternal health disparities,
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 1 as Black midwives offer care that builds trust, enhances
2 maternal satisfaction with the pregnancy, birthing and
3 postpartum experience and improves health outcomes for Black
4 mothers and their babies; and
5 WHEREAS, Midwifery-led care has been shown to result in cost
6 savings, reduced medical interventions, lower cesarean rates,
7 decreased preterm births and improved health outcomes for both
8 mothers and babies; and
9 WHEREAS, Midwives are trained to provide obstetric and
10 gynecological care during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, Midwives may provide essential maternal health care
13 services in a variety of settings in hospitals, clinics, birth
14 centers, homes or community-based settings, ensuring
15 accessibility and continuity of care; and
16 WHEREAS, Black maternity care deserts lead to higher risks of
17 maternal morbidity and mortality as most complications occur in
18 the postpartum period when pregnant women are far away from
19 their health care providers; and
20 WHEREAS, Black communities benefit from access to Black
21 midwives for culturally sensitive and congruent care; and
22 WHEREAS, A lack of affordable training opportunities,
23 financial barriers, State laws and variances in insurance
24 coverage currently limit the capacity to practice midwifery,
25 especially Black midwifery, in hospitals and birth centers; and
26 WHEREAS, Greater levels of integration of midwives across
27 health care settings are associated with significantly higher
28 rates of physiologic birth, less obstetric interventions and
29 fewer adverse neonatal outcomes; and
30 WHEREAS, Integrating midwives across health care settings
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 1 would be instrumental in reducing maternal health disparities
2 and addressing both maternity care deserts and health care
3 provider shortages; and
4 WHEREAS, Black midwives have offered high-quality care
5 throughout history, despite experiencing persecution,
6 enslavement, violence, racism and the systematic erasure of
7 their work; and
8 WHEREAS, The resurgence of Black midwifery is a testament to
9 the resilience, resistance and determination of spirit in the
10 preservation of healing modalities practiced all over the world;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, The National Black Midwives Alliance campaign aims
13 to bring visibility to issues impacting Black midwives and the
14 communities in which they work and promotes awareness, activism,
15 education and community building in recognizing "Black Midwives
16 Day"; and
17 WHEREAS, "Black Midwives Day" is important in raising
18 awareness on the state of Black maternal health, the causes of
19 poor maternal health outcomes and the health disparities
20 impacting Black communities, while offering an opportunity to
21 acknowledge efforts to end maternal mortality on the local,
22 national and global levels; and
23 WHEREAS, In recognizing "Black Midwives Day," the
24 Commonwealth will recognize and emphasize the importance of
25 Black midwifery in addressing gaps to access high-quality care
26 and achieving better maternal health outcomes; therefore be it
27 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize March
28 14, 2025, as "Black Midwives Day" in Pennsylvania.
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