What is birth equity?
Equity is not sameness. It's giving every family what they specifically need to reach the same healthy outcome.
Birth equity is the assurance that every person has a fair and just opportunity to have a healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience — regardless of who they are or where they live.
Some communities face more barriers: less access to care, more exposure to bias, fewer resources. Equity means addressing those gaps directly, not treating every family as though they start from the same place.
WHY IT MATTERS
The gap, in numbers.
These outcomes reflect systemic gaps in care — not individual failure. Most are preventable.
43%
of North Carolina's pregnancy-related deaths (2020–2022) were among Black residents, who make up 22% of the state's population.
50.3
deaths per 100,000 live births among Black women nationally in 2023 — more than 3x the rate for white women.
2x
North Carolina's maternal mortality rate roughly doubled between 2019 and 2021, from 22 to 44 per 100,000 births.
ROOT CAUSES
Inequity has more than one cause.
Birth inequity is the result of overlapping barriers — not a single failure point.
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Implicit bias in care
Patients' pain and concerns are too often not taken seriously, delaying diagnosis and treatment.
Chronic stress
The cumulative health toll of navigating systemic racism over a lifetime, sometimes called "weathering."
Unequal access
Fewer providers, longer travel times, and coverage gaps in underserved and rural areas.
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Missed warning signs
Conditions like preeclampsia and postpartum complications go underdiagnosed or dismissed.
OUR APPROACH
Closing the gap, directly.
Community-rooted action across four fronts.
01
Doula support
Trained, culturally competent birthworkers who advocate alongside families.
02
Education
Helping families understand their options and rights throughout care.
03
Provider partnership
Working directly with maternity healthcare providers to improve care delivery.
04
Policy advocacy
Pushing for culturally competent policy that addresses root causes, not symptoms.
IN PRACTICE
What equity looks like day to day.
01
Respectful, unhurried care that listens to the patient.
02
Equal access to doulas, midwives, and providers, regardless of income.
03
Support from preconception through postpartum — beyond delivery day.
04
Communities equipped with the knowledge to advocate for themselves.
GO DEEPER
Related pages.
Maternal health connects directly to these parts of our work.
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