Hi friends,

It’s Congresswoman Lauren Underwood — reaching out to first wish all the moms and motherly figures a Happy Mother’s Day. But I also wanted to use this opportunity to talk about an issue that’s deeply personal to me.

The United States has the worst maternal mortality rate in the developed world — and it’s only getting worse. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause. This is simply unacceptable.

That’s why I joined Senator Cory Booker and the Black Maternal Health Caucus to introduce the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. This legislation is historic: It aims to end racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes and get maternal justice for Black women and all birthing people of color.

The Momnibus includes 12 bills that make critical investments in not only the Black community, but also rural and veteran communities, to address the maternal health crisis. It would fund community-based organizations while growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce — the health care workers that mothers rely on for care in the critical weeks immediately before and after birth.

No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, we can all agree that no mother should go through pregnancy, birth, or the postpartum period without quality health care. And no child should lose their mother to preventable causes.

We can get the Momnibus signed into law — but we need to build a groundswell of support for it from folks like you. So will you join Cory Booker and me on our mission to save moms’ lives by adding your name as a citizen co-sponsor of the Momnibus?

Thank you so much for joining us in this important work.

Warmly,

Lauren