RESOLUTION NO. 220311

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Recognizing Black Maternal Health Week, April 11-17, 2022, with the theme, Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families and Black Systems of Care and also recognizing the 5 year anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week.
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WHEREAS, Black Maternal Health Week is a week of awareness, activism, and community-building aimed at amplifying the voices of Black Mamas, and centering the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements. BMHW is held annually in April during National Minority Health Month; and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications; and

WHEREAS, in 2020, Black women were most disproportionately affected with a mortality rate of 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 19.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, and 18.2 deaths per 100,000 live births for White and Hispanic women, respectively; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. has an infant mortality rate of 5.6 per 1000 live births in 2019, with a health disparity among Black babies at a rate of 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Black women are 3-5 times more likely to have a maternal death than White women in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Black mothers are more likely to suffer from PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders) like postpartum depression, in silence, and without clinical help;

WHEREAS, Missouri ranks in the bottom 10 states in the country for infant death rates, and black babies are more than twice as likely to die than white babies; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council hereby declare Black Maternal Health Week, April 11-17, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resol...

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