Black Maternal Health Week: How a local nonprofit advocates, educates to save lives

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Black Mamas ATX is a nonprofit culturally centered around educating, protecting and empowering black mothers in Central Texas before, during and after birth.

On the heels of Black Maternal Health Week, its Executive Director, Kelenne Blake, had a conversation with KXAN's Jala Washington, discussing the work the group does to address disparities among black mothers who give birth.

Black Maternal health week, April 11-17, launched in 2018, is meant to spread awareness about disparities.

Those disparities impact black mothers in Central Texas as well.

"We've noticed that there are still a lot of black people in Austin, for example, but they are not able to live in Austin," Blake said. "We have been displaced to the outskirts of Austin in many cases, and these are families who have been here for generations...That's why our organization serves the five-county Austin Metro area. We are in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Bastrop and Elgin...It's harder to build community and to build support systems when we're that displaced and far apart from each other."

Black Mamas ATX offers a variety of free services for its clients to support them before, during and after birth. Those services range from offering trained/certified doulas, mental health services and community building activities through its 'Sister Circle.'

The group also offers some financial support to mothers and families as well, according to Blake.

"We are finding more folks, um, having issues with keeping up with rent payments and bill payments and getting their lights cut off while they have a newborn," Blake said. "Although there are [other] efforts in place to ideally prevent that from happening those even those efforts aren't particularly accessible or particularly easy to get."

Black Maternal Health Week is an opportunity for the group to highlight its continued efforts year-round.

"Community building is power," Blake said. "This is why Black Maternal Health Week is so important...So while we're advocating for change in the community, with our allies, with our friends, with fellow organizations, with our clients and mamas, that work is ongoing, we're trying to help our mamas survive and thrive in this environment where that work is not done yet."