Our Mission

Woven Womb is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing and ultimately preventing maternal mortality.

We support pregnant people and parents through four primary initiatives:

Resources

Woven Womb offers assistance and resources to those who need it.

Fundraising

Our fundraising activity fuels efforts to bring quality resources to all birthing persons.

Advocacy

Woven Womb becomes the voice of those in need when they don't have one.

Events

Woven Womb plans large events to raise awareness and funds for the programs needed to help.

Who We Serve

Woven Womb is dedicated to the general reduction and prevention of maternal mortality for all people. However, our work is particularly focused on improving maternal health for those who face the highest risk of maternal mortality in the United States: black women.

In the United States...

The maternal mortality rate is higher than 10 other industrialized countries.

Black women face the highest rates of maternal mortality and were 2.9 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women in 2020.

Some of the factors that contribute to this racial disparity include:

  Physical Health

Black women are more likely than white women to have certain chronic health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes and are more likely to be obese. These conditions can have a compromising effect on a person's health throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

  Healthcare Access

Comprehensive healthcare is critical during pregnancy and postpartum. However, black women are less likely than white women to receive prenatal care and are more likely to face financial barriers to accessing healthcare or to have no health insurance coverage at all.

  Stress

Despite the excitement and joys of parenthood, pregnancy and childbirth can introduce substantial stress to a person's life. After birth, parents are sent home with hardly any support. This stress is exacerbated for black women, who are additionally exposed to chronic stressors related to racial discrimination and inequality in the U.S. Stress is associated with health problems, including weakening of the immune, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems.

  Quality of Care

Research has shown that black patients receive lower quality healthcare than their white counterparts, even after controlling for the severity of medical conditions, income, insurance status, and other factors. This is exemplified by the fact that black women with a college degree are still more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women with less than high school education, even though higher educational attainment is typically associated with higher income and higher likelihood of health insurance coverage.