The Maternal and Child Health Coalition presents to the New Orleans City Council
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The Maternal and Child Health Coalition is a group of individuals and community organizations dedicated to advocating for improved health services for women and children in New Orleans. Due to the dire statistics concerning birth outcomes, particularly for women of color, in the New Orleans community, the coalition is requesting that the City Council and Mayor’s Office re-establish an office of maternal and child health within city government to monitor this crisis and implement interventions to improve how women give birth in this city. Come support the Coalition as they present their argument to the City Council.

The Mary Amelia Women's Center (MAC) at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine reports that:

  • Louisiana is second highest among all U.S. states for rates of low birth weight and preterm births, conditions that increase risk for neonatal morbidity and long-term deficits in growth and development.
  • Black women in New Orleans are twice as likely to have a low birth weight infant and compared to White women and about 1.5 times as likely to give birth preterm.
  • Louisiana has the fourth highest infant mortality rate in the United States and in New Orleans; the Black infant mortality rate is three times higher than the white infant mortality rate.
  • In Louisiana, Black maternal mortality rates are almost three times higher than White maternal mortality rates.

Members of the Maternal and Child Health Coalition:

  • Birthmark Doula Collective
  • Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies
  • Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
  • Mary Amelia Women's Center (MAC), Tulane University
  • National Birth Equity Collaborative
  • Newcomb College Institute, Tulane University
  • New Orleans Breastfeeding Center
  • The Ohm Well
  • Saul's Light Foundation
  • Sista Midwife Productions
  • Women with a Vision, Inc.