May The Birthing Circle Be Unbroken: Bringing Collective Action To Light & Life

This event marks the closing session of the seven-day National Postpartum Awareness Week for Black Indigenous People of Color.

This session marks a committed effort to use the framework of Collective Impact to directly address the crisis in black maternal health in the United States. The use of Collective Impact ensures that all stakeholders—healthcare providers, policymakers, community leaders, and families—are working cooperatively and collaboratively to de-silo the work and to restore balance and order in reproductive health. This unified approach is vital in mitigating and eliminating the disparate outcomes that currently plague our communities.

This session will employ an interactive, experiential approach incorporating art, culture, and active collaboration to address the specific challenges faced during the 4th Trimester—a critical period where BIPOC women, birthing people, and their babies are most vulnerable to near-death or fatal outcomes. By aligning the common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support, we aim to dismantle the barriers that contribute to severe health disparities that fuel the crisis. The closing event will bring the philosophy of Ubuntu, “I Am, because WE are”, to light and life. This belief system fosters a strong foundation for collective leadership and shared responsibility.