PRINTER'S NO. 1275
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 181
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CURRY, CEPHAS, MAYES, GIRAL, HOHENSTEIN, HILL-
EVANS, McNEILL, VITALI, WAXMAN, VENKAT, McANDREW, NEILSON,
PIELLI, SCHLOSSBERG, PROBST, SANCHEZ, KHAN, MADDEN,
D. WILLIAMS, PARKER, CARROLL, BELLMON, O'MARA, DEASY,
SAMUELSON, BOYD, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, RIVERA, STEELE AND
K.HARRIS, APRIL 4, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, APRIL 4, 2025
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the week of April 11 through 17, 2025, as "Black
2 Maternal Health Week" in Pennsylvania to bring attention to
3 the maternal health crisis and the importance of reducing
4 maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women.
5 WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
6 Prevention, Black women in the United States are 2.6 times more
7 likely than White women to die from pregnancy-related causes;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, Black women in the United States suffer from life-
10 threatening pregnancy complications, known as maternal
11 morbidities, twice as often as White women; and
12 WHEREAS, Maternal mortality rates in the United States are
13 among the highest of any member country of the Organization for
14 Economic Co-operation and Development and are increasing rapidly
15 from 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018, to 32.1 deaths
16 per 100,000 live births in 2021; and
17 WHEREAS, The United States has the highest maternal mortality
 1 rate among affluent countries, in part because of the
2 disproportionate maternal mortality rate of Black women; and
3 WHEREAS, The rate of preterm births among Black women is
4 nearly 50% higher than the preterm birth rate among White or
5 Hispanic women; and
6 WHEREAS, The high rates of maternal mortality among Black
7 women span across income levels, education levels and
8 socioeconomic status; and
9 WHEREAS, In 2020, the overall pregnancy-associated mortality
10 rate for this Commonwealth was 83 deaths per 100,000 live
11 births; and
12 WHEREAS, In 2020, the pregnancy-associated mortality rate for
13 non-Hispanic Blacks was 148 deaths per 100,000 live births, two
14 times the rate of deaths for non-Hispanic Whites; and
15 WHEREAS, More than 51% of deaths occurred between 43 and 365
16 days of delivery, beyond the standard 60 days of medical
17 assistance coverage for pregnant women in this Commonwealth; and
18 WHEREAS, More than 93% of pregnancy-related deaths in this
19 Commonwealth are considered preventable; and
20 WHEREAS, Fifty-three percent of cases of maternal death in
21 this Commonwealth between 2013 and 2018 affected mothers who
22 were enrolled in medical assistance when they delivered; and
23 WHEREAS, Approximately half of pregnancy-associated death
24 cases in this Commonwealth did not receive adequate prenatal
25 care; and
26 WHEREAS, Philadelphia County accounts for 20% of this
27 Commonwealth's maternal deaths with an average of 18 deaths per
28 year; and
29 WHEREAS, Philadelphia County's rate of pregnancy-related
30 deaths from 2013 to 2018 was approximately 20 per 100,000 live
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 1 births, which is higher than the 2018 national rate of 17.4 per
2 100,000 live births; and
3 WHEREAS, In 2018, pregnancy-related deaths for Black women in
4 Pittsburgh were higher than 97% of similar cities in the United
5 States, despite starting prenatal care earlier than Black
6 pregnant women in similar cities and having lower rates of
7 gestational diabetes, hypertension and infection; and
8 WHEREAS, In Allegheny County at large, Black women are dying
9 at a rate three times higher than White women; therefore be it
10 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
11 week of April 11 through 17, 2025, as "Black Maternal Health
12 Week" in Pennsylvania to bring attention to the maternal health
13 crisis and the importance of reducing maternal mortality and
14 morbidity among Black women.
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