CITY OF FRESNO Offices of Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Nelson Esparza, and Councilmember
Annalisa
Perea
Is hereby presented in honor of:
Black Maternal Health Week WHEREAS: Black Maternal Health Week is nationally recognized each year during the month of April. The purpose is to help bring awareness and to engage in proactive conversations in improving Black maternal
health.
We
dedicate
this
week
towards
amplifying
community-driven
policy,
research,
and
care
solutions;
and WHEREAS: The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among comparable countries in the developed world. Each year in the United States, thousands of women experience pregnancy complications.
Maternal
mortality
has
skyrocketed
in
the
past
few
years,
with
an
estimated
18.6%
maternal
deaths
for
every
100,000
live
births
in
the
United
States.
Approximately
700
women
die
each
year
in
our
country
due
to
pregnancy-related
complications.
Pregnancy-related
mortality
can
be
avoided
in
many
cases
by
identifying
urgent
maternal
warning
signals,
treating
patients
promptly,
and
providing
compassionate,
high-quality
care;
and
WHEREAS: Available research has consistently shown that racism compromises health. In the United States specifically, racism has continued to harm people of color and marginalized communities. Racism is widely
present
and
shows
up
in
every
dimension
of
health
care.
Health
care
is
not
immune
from
the
injustices
that
pervade
society
more
broadly;
and
WHEREAS: CDC data reports that Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. This alarming risk spans across all income and education levels.
Decreasing
maternal
racial
disparities
requires
collaboration
among
local,
state,
and
federal
governments,
healthcare
systems,
providers,
and
social
service
organizations,
and
equitable
investments
through
services,
programs,
and
conditions
that
impact
Black,
Indigenous,
and
birthing
persons
of
color;
and
WHEREAS: No woman or baby should experience a preventable preterm birth, and neither should die from a preventable cause in childbirth. The shared understanding of how inequities in outcomes based upon
race,
class,
and
gender
are
created
by
policy
and
practice
is
crucial
to
ending
these
health
care
inequities.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Nelson Esparza, Councilmember
Annalisa
Perea,,
and
the
Fresno
City
Council,
do
hereby
proclaim,
the
11th-17th
of
April
2025,
as:
“Black Maternal Health Week” in the City of Fresno. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands and affixed the Seal of The City of Fresno, California, on this 10 th
day of April 2025.