While it is often said “it takes a village to raise a child,” it will take each and every one of us to stand up to long-standing inequities that have affected Black women, babies, and families for generations. Our health care system does not treat Black women and their babies equally, and we can’t accept this. Tomorrow’s Black legacy deserves protecting today.
The Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI).
Acknowledging long-standing, higher rates of infant and maternal deaths among African Americans, the governor authorized funding for the statewide Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) in 2018. Counties across the state of California are working on PEI initiatives to develop interventions, raise awareness of poor birth outcomes and inequities among African Americans, and addressing the role of bias and racism—particularly in health care settings—in contributing to these birth outcomes.
The San Diego PEI works with the Black Infant Health Program (BIH), which offers social support, stress management and empowerment through prenatal/postpartum groups and one-on-one sessions—to help women to understand their risks and try to reduce them.
You can learn more about the San Diego County PEI or attend an upcoming Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting by emailing Amanda.Lowe-DuBose@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Visit the Connect page to learn more about the CAB.
About San Diego’s Perinatal Equity Initiative.
Vision: African-American families are healthy, safe, and thriving.
Mission: Improve birth and maternal health outcomes for African-American families in San Diego County by changing the systems that contribute to social injustices, economic disparities, and racial and health inequities.
Core Values: “Healing” oriented, equity-driven, focused on “upstream” solutions, and trauma-informed.
Guiding Principles:
- Committed to positive, measurable, observable change.
- Recognize that trauma-filled communities are not by choice, but by design of policies and laws.
- Build upon the long legacy of resilience in the Black community despite compromising social, economic, and health conditions.
Support Organizations and Partners:
American Academy of Pediatrics, CA Chapter 3; First 5 San Diego; Global Communities Healthy Start; March of Dimes; Mother2Baby; Neighborhood House Association; North County Health Services; Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest; Project Save Our Children; Rady Children’s Hospital; San Diego Association of Black Social Workers; San Diego International Birthing Project; Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns; Tree of Life Birth Center; County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
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