CHC attends Atlanta M.O.M.S. tour stop to learn more about community needs

On Saturday, May 20th, CHC’s Program Manager Demetrius Geiger attended a M.O.M.S Tour (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) Community Baby Shower hosted at the Cathedral of Faith Church of God. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Black women are three times and AI/AN women are two times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women, and over 80% of those deaths are preventable. The M.O.M.S. Tour will intentionally serve those at greatest risk: Black and AI/ AN moms in urban and rural communities. The MOMS Tour is a 2-year initiative that will reach 50 cities and up to 25,000 expectant mothers.

Demetrius Geiger

Maternal health is one of CHC’s focus areas as part of our Awareness and Access pillar of our work. Through funding from Elevance Health Foundation (formerly Anthem Foundation), CHC launched the Black Birthing Initiative in January 2022 to address the maternal health crisis and reduce preterm births among Black women in three cities: Atlanta, Cleveland, and Detroit. The initiative will ultimately identify stressors and other health related social needs impacting preterm births and work with community-based organizations to provide community-driven interventions. This work is being done in part through CHC’s BBI needs assessment survey.

At the community baby shower, Demetrius shared our BBI needs assessment with attendees. Pregnant or post-partum women can lend their voice and take the needs assessment to inform this work.