Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission Meeting & Listening Session

The Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission will hold a remote public meeting and listening session.

 The Commission meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. This meeting is open to the public. It is anticipated that public testimony via the remote hearing will begin at approximately 6:00 p.m., following the close of the Commission business.

The listening session will focus on maternal health efforts and experiences in the North Shore, South Shore, South Coast, and Cape Cod.

The Commission is especially interested in hearing from People of Color, including maternal health practitioners, birthing people, birthing partners, mothers, fathers, and other family members affected by maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity.

The Commission was established by Chapter 348 of the Acts of 2020, An Act to reduce racial inequities in maternal health. The goal of the Commission over the next year is to listen and learn from regions throughout the state. The testimony received from the listening sessions on strategies to optimize the experience and outcomes of birth for Black women will be used to inform a report and legislative recommendations.

Commission members are especially interested in learning about best practices, and barriers to accessing care. To that end, your experiences, expertise, and testimony will be critical.

The November 15 public listening session will be held as the fourth of four listening sessions focused on geographically diverse regions across the Commonwealth. Interested participants can sign up to testify and/or submit written testimony via this form.

The Commission asks those testifying to limit their remarks to three minutes to ensure that there is time for everyone to speak. Those testifying live are also warmly welcome to submit written testimony. The Commission welcomes written remarks of any length.

Due to limited spaces on the Microsoft Teams Meeting, everyone who is not testifying is asked to view the hearing via the live stream under the Hearings & Events section of the Massachusetts Legislature’s website.

Should you have questions or want to suggest others in the North Shore, South Shore, South Coast and Cape Cod who should receive an invitation to share testimony with the Commission, do not hesitate to reach out to Gabrielle “Kate” Alicante, who staffs the Commission and works for Chair Decker as a Research Analyst with the Joint Committee on Public Health gabrielle.alicante@mahouse.gov  and Brian Rosman for Chair Comerford’s office brian.rosman@masenate.gov.