GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT
Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative
“City-based coalitions work. Here in Camden, New Jersey, we’ve reached across sectors to ensure that pregnant women get the support they need for a healthy pregnancy. The evidence-based interventions that we need to turn the tide on maternal mortality are going to come from cities.”
– Kathleen Noonan, CEO of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers
Black mothers die from pregnancy or childbirth complications at a 3.3 percent greater rate than white mothers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New Jersey, maternal mortality is nearly double the national average. The state’s mortality rate for black women is more than three times that of white women.
These disparities are unacceptable. These trends must be reversed. The Burke Foundation is committed to understanding the factors that contribute to these inequalities and acting to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the state of New Jersey.
By providing funding for the Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative (SCCI), which advances local solutions that help cities become safer and more equitable places to give birth, the Burke Foundation is working with other grantmakers to ensure healthy and equitable pregnancy and childbirth experiences for all.
Maternal mortality in New Jersey is nearly 2 times the national average.
According to the CDC, black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth complications than white woman.
Black babies die at 3 times the rate of white newborns in New Jersey.
Although maternal death rates have declined globally over the past 25 years, the US is one of the only high-income countries in which maternal mortality is on the rise.
An estimated 60% of these deaths are preventable.
SCCI supports community-based leaders in nine cities across the US. The initiative focuses on social determinants of health such as access to care, health literacy, and transportation. With partners that include hospitals, public health institutes, and healthcare coalitions, it addresses health disparities by working within communities to better support women and families during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.
Funding focuses on supporting community-led solutions to improve maternal health outcomes in the New Jersey cities of Camden and Newark. The Camden Safer Childbirth Initiative partnered with the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers in an effort to strengthen citywide data infrastructures that will improve pregnant and postpartum women’s connection to services and care coordination. SCCI in Newark partnered with the Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition to educate healthcare providers on best practices for maternity care, develop a public education campaign to increase women’s awareness of pregnancy and postnatal conditions, and to share findings with maternal health stakeholders.
The Burke Foundation is proud to be among the Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative inaugural grantmaking class alongside the Nicholson Foundation, the Community Health Acceleration Partnership, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Rhia Ventures, and others.
“It’s unacceptable that women are dying during pregnancy and childbirth from causes we can prevent. We are encouraged by the growing attention to this public health problem and the potential to have an even greater impact on women’s lives by working closely with local communities across the country.”
– Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, Chief Patient Officer at Merck