Black Maternal Health Week is from April 11 to April 17, and Emory Decatur Hospital is hosting its third annual resource fair on April 15 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to bring the community together in amplifying Black-led solutions to improve maternal health outcomes. The event will feature 20 Black, female-owned businesses in the maternal health space, including doulas and lactation consultants, mental health professionals, and pilates and yoga instructors. Food demonstrations and samples will also be available, providing high-density, high-protein, and high-fiber options for women who are pregnant and nursing. Emory Decatur will gift a bag of fresh produce to the first 100 registered attendees.
The annual Black Maternal Health Week campaign will celebrate its 10-year milestone in 2026, honoring a decade of building awareness, activism, and community to amplify the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of Black mothers and birthing people. This year’s theme is “Rooted in Justice and Joy,” and Michelle Kitchens, the director of women and infant services at Emory Decatur, said it’s about celebrating the good work happening outside the hospital in the maternal health space.
“We want to celebrate and empower these Black business owners who are doing the work once the patients get home, or before they even get to the hospital, and create partnerships and bonds with these community members,” Kitchens said. “This is our third time doing this vendor fair, and it has opened up a lot of doors for doulas who know that this is a safe place for them to bring their patients, that it’s not going to be an adversarial relationship when they get here. And for lactation consultants who need referrals, for patients who are going home and might need that support outside the hospital. So, it’s been a win-win for both sides.”
As of 2025, Georgia has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the U.S., with Black women over three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in Georgia are preventable. Health and economic disparities, systemic racism, and Georgia’s six-week abortion ban are just some of the issues that have substantially affected the Black maternal health crisis. Kitchens highlighted the importance of Black Maternal Health Week and the Emory Decatur resource fair in educating the communtiy of these glaring disparities.
“It really gives us an opportunity to highlight the role of systemic and institutional racism, bias in health care, and disparities in access. Forty percent of Black moms experience some kind of maternal mental health condition during or right after their pregnancy, which is nearly twice the rate of the general population. And so we strive to make sure that we have some mental health professionals at this vendor fair that are Black women and have experienced this in their own community, so that they can feel that this is more normalized and not something to just kind of brush under the rug, but seek treatment for.”
Along with campaigns and calls to action such as Black Maternal Health Week, Kitchens noted public policies aimed at improving Black maternal health. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act is a package of 13 bills designed to comprehensively address the maternal health crisis in the U.S. through investments in housing and nutrition, expanding the perinatal workforce, improving data collection, and supporting mental health. She also encouraged those looking for more ways to get involved to attend advocacy days at the Georgia State Capitol, as local advocates work to get Georgia douas paid by Medicaid and to ensure patients have access to midwifery care outside of having a doctor.
Those interested in attending can register for Emory Decatur’s Black Maternal Health Week resource fair here at events.blackthorn.io/5e2EtNZ7/4a3BPOkgKP. It will be located at the Bailey Tower Auditorium.