On July 10th, a coalition of over 40 midwives, doulas, public health experts, and reproductive justice advocates convened at the Massachusetts Statehouse to advocate for the urgent passage of the critical maternal health package.
Read moreBEJMA's First Steering Committee Retreat
The BEJMA steering committee had our first group retreat in May 2024! We gathered at the beautiful Boston Nature Center in Mattapan and shared space, energy, ideas, challenges, and movement.
Read moreBEJMA co-chairs Yaminah Romulus and Dr. Jallicia Jolly featured at Boston Women's Fund Reproductive Justice Symposium
BEJMA is so excited for our co-chairs Dr. Jallicia Jolly and Yaminah Romulus to speak at Boston Women’s Fund’s Reproductive Justice Symposium,“Where Do We Go From Here” on April 22! We and fellow BWF grantee partners, Melanin Mass Moms, and Propa City Community Outreach, have been advisors for this event and will be sitting on a panel to uplift a crucial grassroots perspective. The day will also feature a keynote address from the international Queen Mother of Midwifery, Shafia Monroe, and an interactive action session where we’ll discuss together, with policymakers and funders, what’s next in the movement.
Read moreBEJMA co-hosts Birthing Justice screening and panel at the State House
On April 8, 2024, Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts hosted a Black Maternal Health Week event at the Massachusetts State House in partnership with the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, Bay State Birth Coalition, and the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice.
Read moreBoston Women's Fund Fall Grantee Gathering
In October 2023, BEJMA had the honor of meeting with BWF’s staff & other grantee partners leading grassroots work and systems change! It was such a rewarding experience to be surrounded by great leaders doing amazing work in our community.
Read moreBoston Globe - August 10, 2023, Boston-based maternal health organizations get funding boost to help cover cost of doulas, other supports
Boston Globe - August 10, 2023
Boston-based maternal health organizations get funding boost to help cover cost of doulas, other supports: Three local organizations receive $75,000 in grants for their work addressing the maternal health crisis
Read moreHaitian & Latinx Migrants Need Your Help
Over 150 Haitian & Latine migrant families seeking asylum are being temporarily housed at the Clarion Hotel in Taunton, Massachusetts. Taunton is a maternity desert, meaning pregnant and birthing migrants are experiencing a public health crisis due to lack of social supports, maternity and postpartum resources, and quality nutrition. As a result, migrants are experiencing increased incidences of depression, high blood pressure, anemia, and gestational diabetes.
BEJMA is working with various organizations in the Massachusetts area to collect donations in the coming weeks.
How you can help: If you are able, please consider purchasing supplies from this Amazon Registry, contributing to the GoFundMe, signing up to volunteer, or bringing requested items to our drop-off locations.
Read moreNew Name, Mission, and Vision →
In August 2022, we adopted a new name, “Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts (BEJMA)” and updated our mission and vision as part of our strategic planning process.
Read our new mission and vision statements.
Read moreBlue Cross Blue Shield of MA Foundation Grant →
The Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Equity Coalition is proud to announce that we won a 2021 Special Initiatives grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in the amount of $25,000. This funding will enable MCMEC to conduct a strategic planning process that aims to further develop our multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary, community-driven group devoted to improving the health outcomes of BIPOC birthing people across the state.
Read moreAnnual Massachusetts Maternal Health Equity Community Town Hall on June 3, 2021
On June 3rd from 12:30 pm until 2 pm, the Coalition will host our annual Massachusetts Maternal Health Equity Community Town Hall (virtual) in partnership with the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and the Perinatal-Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN). Our collective goal is to improve maternal health for Black and Brown birthing people during COVID-19 in the Commonwealth by centering the experiences and stories of our community.
Read moreNew Coalition Demands that Governor and Legislature Take Immediate Action to Address Maternal Mortality Crisis During COVID-19
New Coalition Demands that Governor and Legislature Take Immediate Action to Address Maternal Mortality Crisis During COVID-19
Coalition announces six policy priorities to protect and prioritize birthing people during the pandemic
Massachusetts, July 15, 2020 - The Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Equity Coalition releases the report Birthing in a Pandemic, issuing policy recommendations to Governor Baker and the Legislature to improve maternal health for Black and brown birthing people during COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
Read moreNEW REPORT! Giving Birth in a Pandemic: Policy Recommendations to Improve Maternal Equity During COVID-19 →
Our July 15, 2020 report outlines six key policy recommendations to ensure equitable, evidence-based, system-level policy reforms for achieving maternal health equity:
Form a COVID-19 Emergency Maternal Equity Task Force
Collect Data on Pregnant and Birthing People, Race/Ethnicity, and COVID-19
Ensure Consistency in Hospital Perinatal Policies, Including Support People and Mother-Infant Separation
Ensure Immediate Access to Ongoing Mental Health Care for Birthing People
Ensure Ongoing Comprehensive Medicaid Coverage for Birthing People
Expand Midwifery Care and Community Birth Options
Read the report.
Read moreStatement Against Police Brutality and the Impact of Systemic Racism on Maternal Outcomes →
Hundreds attend first Maternal Health Equity Town Hall
Thank you to the hundreds who joined us on June 3 for an important community conversation about the needs of birthing people during COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
On June 3, 2020, hundreds gathered for a virtual Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Health Equity Town Hall hosted by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and state legislators Representative Kay Khan, Representative Liz Miranda and Senator Becca Rausch, and the MA Covid-19 Maternal Equity Coalition (formerly MA Covid-19 Perinatal Coalition) with special guests Senate President Karen Spilka and Senator Joan Lovely. Pregnant and postpartum mothers, midwives, nurses, and researchers shared their powerful stories describing their experiences and challenges for maternal health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read moreNEW Coalition Forms and Hosts Town Hall to Address Crisis of Maternity Care Inequity in the Commonwealth During COVID-19
Massachusetts - On June 3, 2020 at 3 pm, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Representative Kay Khan, Representative Liz Miranda, Senator Becca Rausch and the Massachusetts COVID-19 Perinatal Coalition (MCPC) invite all stakeholders including pregnant and birthing people to join us in a discussion of priority issues for moms and birthing people during COVID-19. Register here to receive the Zoom link to attend.
The COVID-19 crisis has strained our hospitals and health care system beyond capacity, shining a light on our already-failing maternity care system and exacerbating existing maternal health inequities in the Commonwealth. Prior to the pandemic, maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidities had been rising for years in Massachusetts -- with persistent racial and geographic disparities -- due to system failures and pervasive racism. During the pandemic, we have seen concerning trends: a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 being born by black and brown communities, variation in hospital policies on labor support and mom and baby separation, lack of sufficient personal protective equipment and testing availability for health care providers, increases in c-sections and forceps delivery, diminished access to anesthesia, and high levels of anxiety and depression.
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