For Immediate Release: TENNESSEE SENATE PASSES CRUCIAL MATERNAL HEALTH EQUITY BILL (SB1832/HB2226)

This month marks a monumental step forward in prioritizing the health and well-being of Tennessee's mothers, fathers, and children as the Tennessee State Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously passed SB1832, the ‘Tennessee Maternal Health Equity Advisory Committee Act’ on April 18, 2024.

The public and supporters are encouraged to attend a local press conference for questions and comments on June 17, 2024, at 6:00pm at Hellbender Harm Reduction Building located at 3317 N Broadway Knoxville, Tennessee, 37917 as this is FREE and open to the public.

Call to Actions:

Community at large

• Educate and inform one another on local/state maternal health events & convenings.
• Stay informed on local and state policy/legislation regarding maternal health
• Support local birth workers, advocates and activists in the maternal health space. 

Journalists, News, Media & Influencers 

• Tell the truth and bring clarity to the maternal health crisis–highlighting the issue with a focus on making sure historically overlooked and silenced narratives about black, brown and rural women in this space experiences are uplifted.

Birth workers & Health Professionals/Medical Institutions

• Support maternal health initiatives and legislation by amplifying your voices and advocating for ALL birthing people in the State of Tennessee.
• Commit to uprooting bias and white supremacy from the inside out.
• Shift from ‘consumers and clients’ –this takes relationships from transactional to collaborative.
• Recognize all people as members of a collective with the power to shape the way we nourish our communities, promote change and close our maternal health disparities–advocating for families beyond your scope of practice or services.  

Policy Makers/Government 

• Invite community and offer co creation–building community ownership into your board model (community action board).
• Make maternal health, child health and reproductive justice reform a priority and not an afterthought.
• Establishing working groups can help governments become more successful and effective when addressing the maternal health mortality and crisis with a clear agenda and accountability.
• Prior to sponsoring legislation, identify community-based organizations and advocates to ensure an ecosystem of collaboration. 

Land Grant Institutions, Funders & Donors

• Make resources, toolkits and funding more accessible to those birth workers and community-based organizations on the ground with women, children and families.
• Move away from the ‘top down’ approach into trust-based philanthropy.
  Examine your grantmaking through an equity lens, seeking to eradicate any harm or oppressive behaviors–taking more concrete steps to ensure your dollars are working more effectively for the communities they are intended to serve.
• Partner with community-based organizations, birth workers, and advocates outside of the institutions to ensure equity and accuracy of the goals at large addressing the maternal health crisis. 

Reporting Bad Actors

• Submit complaints regarding mistreatment, obstetric abuse, racism within the industrial medical complex and birth network to the institutions Director of Patient Experience, Director of Diversity Equity Inclusion and/or upper division level staff and the IRTH application that is downloadable on all platforms.