Honoring Black Maternal Health Week: Rooted in Justice & Joy

Black Maternal Health Week was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the United States. Bronson team members, in collaboration with Cradle Kalamazoo, are working to raise awareness of the disparities Black women experience before, during and after pregnancy.

This week, communities across the country are observing Black Maternal Health Week (April 11–17), the annual campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to amplify the voices and experiences of Black mothers and birthing people. This year’s theme is Rooted in Justice & Joy and calls for us to celebrate the progress made through years of collective effort, while maintaining honest accountability for the inequities that remain.

A Historic Milestone in Kalamazoo County

 Recently released public health data shows that the Black infant mortality rate in Kalamazoo County has reached its lowest recorded level, falling to 7.0 deaths per 1,000 live births over the 2022–2024 measurement period. Statewide, the Black infant mortality rate during that same period stood at 13.2, making our local number a striking departure from the norm, and a testament to years of coordinated work across healthcare, public health and community-based organizations.

 "This is significant and encouraging news for our community," said Dr. Karen Garcia, newborn hospitalist at Bronson. "Every reduction represents babies who are reaching their first birthdays and families who are spared unimaginable loss."

Progress Is Not the Same as Equity

 As meaningful as this milestone is, Bronson leaders are clear-eyed about what it does and does not mean.

Black babies in Kalamazoo County are still dying at a rate 2.5 times higher than white babies, whose infant mortality rate during the same period was 2.8. Nationally, Black women and birthing people are more than three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, and more than 80% of those deaths are considered preventable.

"We can celebrate improvement without losing sight of inequity," said Dr. Arthur James, OB/Gyn, "A historically low Black infant mortality rate is not the same as an acceptable outcome. Our north star is zero tolerance for inequities in the outcomes we can influence."

What Is Working — and Why It Matters

Reducing infant and maternal mortality requires action that begins long before delivery and extends well beyond it. 

At Bronson — southwest Michigan's only children's hospital and primary provider of obstetric care — that means looking honestly at how care is delivered, how risk is identified earlier and where systems need improvement. It also means recognizing that no single organization can do this work alone. 

Bronson is proud to collaborate with community partners including Cradle Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo County Health Department, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed), the Michigan Breastfeeding Network, Milk Like Mine/Bellies Like Mine and Rx Kids. These organizations extend care, resources and support to families across our region, often reaching people and moments that clinical settings cannot.

Bronson’s commitment to advancing equitable care is also reflected in programs such as Centering Pregnancy and the Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank, which support families and their babies with resources that strengthen care across the community. 

"This work does not belong to any single organization," said Bill Manns, President and CEO of Bronson Healthcare. "It belongs to all of us who care for families before, during and after birth — and to the communities who trust us with their babies' lives."

How You Can Get Involved 

Black Maternal Health Week is a call to action for all of us. Whether you are a healthcare provider, a community member, an advocate for health equity or someone who has experienced the maternity care system firsthand, your voice and engagement matter.

Learn more about local resources and see how you can get involved.