“I believe that reaching women of color in their communities and creating healthcare agencies led by black women for black women will help to begin creating safe spaces for pregnancy and birth-related care, and therefore help to alleviate some of the risks and challenges black women face that lead to higher maternal mortality. However, the structures must also change. Systemic racism creates undue stress for the black pregnant woman, setting her up to be at a disadvantage before she even steps into the inequitable healthcare system in the first place. We must begin to create an anti-racist policy that tackles systemic racism and re-writes race-based inequities in place. We must also find ways to incorporate culturally and ethnically inclusive birthing and pregnancy practices in both medical school education and health class education for young people in the United States. Creating better health outcomes starts with finding ways to level the playing field by re-working social structures that perpetuate white supremacy and oppression of minorities.”