When it comes to maternal health in the United States, the numbers are stark—and for Black women, they are especially grim. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Black women are nearly 3.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts. In places like Brooklyn, New York, and across Connecticut, this crisis is driving innovative, community-rooted responses that aim to save lives and empower mothers.
One such response is unfolding in Brooklyn, where the Caribbean Women’s Health Association (CWHA) has become a beacon for Black families navigating pregnancy and postpartum care. Founded in 1982, CWHA is now the largest community-based doula service provider in New York City. Its mission is simple but profound: to ensure that Black women are heard, supported, and empowered throughout their birthing journey.
“Sometimes you hear a lot of horror stories about being a Black woman giving birth,” Ana Nunez, a mother who worked with CWHA’s doula service, told CBS News. “So I wanted to feel heard, I wanted to feel included.” For Nunez, that sense of inclusion and advocacy came through her doula, Reshonah Williams, who stood by her side from the third trimester through postpartum. Williams explained, “We worked on comfort measures to help ease the condition of natural labor. Because the hospitals automatically come up with the idea of, ‘You can have an epidural if you want, you should have an epidural.’ And we’re like, ‘Mom says she wants to do this.’”
This kind of advocacy is crucial in a healthcare system that too often overlooks the pain and preferences of Black women. In Brooklyn—the city’s most populous Black community—the maternal mortality rate is especially high. CWHA’s approach, which centers psychosocial support rather than clinical care, is making a tangible difference for hundreds of families. The organization also runs multilingual workshops on topics ranging from sleep safety and lactation to postpartum recovery, all tailored to meet families where they are.
For Raven Lopez, another Brooklyn mother, the support of her doula, Dadreama Sandiford, was nothing short of transformative during a difficult postpartum period. “If they’re saying that they’re experiencing pain, they’re experiencing pain,” Sandiford said of her role as a doula. “For the physicians, listen. For the lawmakers, make it accessible for everyone.” That ethos—listening, supporting, and advocating—has been at the heart of CWHA since its inception. As Executive Director Cheryl Hall put it, “There’s a whole birth plan put in place and what the expectations are. Doulas, of course, they are providing psychosocial care. They’re not providing clinical care.” Yet, as Hall and her team know, that psychosocial care can be life-saving.
Despite losing a seven-year grant from the National Institutes of Health and Mount Sinai due to a change in administration, CWHA has continued its mission. The organization’s resilience underscores a simple truth: everybody wins when Black women are heard, supported, and empowered.
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, a different but complementary approach is taking shape. Medical providers there have embraced a novel, low-tech solution to raise awareness of postpartum health complications and empower new mothers: the “I Gave Birth” orange silicone wristband. Starting in May 2025, Trinity Health of New England began distributing these bracelets to postpartum patients. The idea is both practical and symbolic—a bright, unmistakable signal to healthcare providers that the wearer has recently given birth and may be at risk for complications.
“Birth is supposed to be a happy time,” said Karen Beebe, perinatal nursing professional development specialist at the Women & Infants Center at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury. “But, there are these things that occur, and the more people that are aware and know about it, the better care we can give our perinatal population.” Most patients recover from childbirth without issue, but some develop serious complications even up to a year after delivery. In Connecticut, from 2015 to 2020, there was an average of five pregnancy-related deaths per year, according to the state Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Alarmingly, 90% of those deaths were considered preventable, with more than half occurring a week or up to a year after giving birth.
Like the national numbers, Connecticut’s data reveals deep racial disparities. Black women account for about 19% of pregnancy-related deaths in the state, despite being a smaller proportion of the population. “We know that when patients show up to the ED, even with the education that we’ve given, sometimes they’re not always asked, ‘Have you recently gave birth?’” Beebe explained. “It’s a way to empower the patient to be able to say, ‘Hey, I gave birth. My symptoms might be related to that.’”
The program’s reach has grown rapidly. Since launching the bracelet initiative around Mother’s Day 2025, Trinity Health has distributed approximately 175 bracelets. Hartford HealthCare, another major provider, has given out more than 850 bracelets since starting its own program in mid-June. The bracelets are worn for up to 12 weeks after birth, providing an easily visible cue for medical providers and a gentle reminder for mothers to prioritize their own health. Jennifer Dowe, nurse and director of perinatal specialty programs at Hartford HealthCare, noted that even a few fathers have expressed gratitude, saying the bracelets help them stay alert to potential symptoms and better support their partners.
The Connecticut Hospital Association, buoyed by grant funding and state support, hopes to take the initiative statewide, making Connecticut the first state in the nation to implement such a program at this scale. The effort would include training for healthcare professionals—community-based, EMS, and hospital staff alike—to better identify, triage, and treat postpartum complications. In a statement to CT Insider, the association expressed hope to launch the program in early fall.
“We just really want the community to have the awareness that the postpartum period isn’t just about the baby,” Dowe said. “There’s some serious high-risk things that can happen to a mom, and we all have a responsibility to care for our new moms.”
These efforts—whether in the form of a community doula or a simple orange bracelet—share a common thread: putting mothers at the center, listening to their voices, and ensuring they have the support they need. As the maternal mortality crisis continues to challenge the country, it’s clear that solutions rooted in community, advocacy, and awareness can make all the difference.
In the end, it’s not just about statistics or programs. It’s about every mother feeling seen, heard, and valued—and about building systems that refuse to accept anything less.
