City Marks Black Maternal Health Week, Highlights 37-Year Program Serving Expectant Mothers

Pasadena’s Black Infant Health program has operated out of the same Fair Oaks Avenue office since 1989, offering group prenatal sessions, postpartum support, and case management to Black mothers across the San Gabriel Valley. On Friday, Mayor Victor M. Gordo formally recognized that work, proclaiming April 11–17, 2026, as Black Maternal Health Week in the city.

The proclamation, issued on behalf of the City Council, states that Black pregnant people in the United States are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white pregnant people, and that four out of five such deaths are considered preventable. It cites structural racism, gender oppression, and inequities in social determinants of health as contributors to those disparities, according to the text published on the city’s website.

The national disparity has barely moved. The most recent federal data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March, put the 2024 maternal mortality rate for Black women at 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births — three times the rate of 14.2 for white women. The United States has the highest pregnancy-related death rate among developed nations, according to the proclamation.

Pasadena’s BIH program, housed within the Pasadena Public Health Department at 1845 N. Fair Oaks Ave., was among the first of its kind in California when the state established the Black Infant Health initiative through Senate Bill 165 in 1989. Originally a pilot in four sites, the statewide program has since expanded to 17 local health jurisdictions covering more than 90 percent of African American births in California, according to the public health department’s website.

The Pasadena program offers 10 prenatal and 10 postpartum group sessions in what the department describes as a culturally affirming environment. Topics include stress management, healthy relationships, and infant care. Individual case management connects participants with additional services including health insurance enrollment and family planning, according to the city’s published program description.

The program currently serves pregnant and postpartum mothers with infants up to six months old across the greater Pasadena area, including Arcadia, South Pasadena, Altadena, Monrovia, and Duarte, and has expanded enrollment to Pomona, Claremont, and other San Gabriel Valley cities, according to city listings.

Black Maternal Health Week, established in 2018 by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, is in its ninth year. The alliance itself marks its 10th anniversary in 2026. This year’s theme is “Rooted in Justice & Joy.” The weeklong campaign is held annually during National Minority Health Month and begins April 11 to coincide with the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, according to the organization.

No events specifically branded as taking place in Pasadena were identified in public listings for the week. The nearest scheduled event is the SGV AAIMM Community Baby Shower, planned for Sunday, April 12, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Second Baptist Church of Monrovia, 925 S. Shamrock Ave. — approximately seven miles east of Pasadena. The event, organized by the San Gabriel Valley community action team of the Los Angeles County African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Prevention Initiative and partners, is free and open to the community, according to event listings compiled for this story.

Pregnant Black residents in Los Angeles County may also be eligible for free support from a certified birth doula through the AAIMM doula program. Information is available by texting DOULA to 323-745-2771, according to the initiative’s website.

The Pasadena BIH program is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents can call (626) 744-6155 or submit an interest form online through the Pasadena Public Health Department‘s website.

The proclamation was the second consecutive year Mayor Gordo has designated the week in Pasadena. A similar proclamation was issued on April 7, 2025, according to the mayor’s website.