Perinatal Equity Initiative

In California, Black infant mortality rates (the likelihood of an infant dying before their first birthday) are two to four times higher than the rates for other ethnic groups. Black babies are also more likely to be born early or have low birth weights.

The Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) was signed into State law in 2018 to change these outcomes. ("Perinatal" refers to the time immediately before and after a baby is born.) The PEI is designed to create better birth and early life experiences for parents and babies. It's focused on families likely to be impacted by higher infant mortality rates.

Our Action

In October 2020, Contra Costa Health (CCH) began working with community-based organizations to provide two programs: the Fatherhood Program and the Community-Based Doula Program. These services focus on Black families, address stressors driven by structural racism, and improve upon the social determinants of health (the non-medical circumstances that shape our health, like education and income). The programs strive to:

• Decrease stress
• Improve protective factors
• Empower with health education and options for care
• Increase access to healthcare and social services

The goal over time is to improve infant and maternal health indicators and outcomes:

• Normalize full-term babies born at healthy weights
• Have fewer postpartum maternal complications for Black families

Resources

Community Advisory Board

• We have an active Community Advisory Board that meets quarterly and advises our PEI team about community needs and services that will benefit Black families in Contra Costa County.
• Board members bring awareness about the need for health equity where they live, work, play and pray.
• This diverse group includes parents, physicians, doulas, public health professionals, early childhood professionals, and more.

If you are interested in joining our Community Advisory Board, complete this application and mail or email it to the contact on the form.

Apply for the Board

How can you help?

Spread the word

Promote change by joining in the #DeliverBirthJustice campaign, a collaboration between five Bay Area counties to raise up the stories, testimonials and experiences of Black mothers. The goals are to:

• Raise awareness and share information about how systemic racism and bias drive health disparities for Black birthing people and babies.
• Build public support for systems change at the local, regional and statewide level

Campaign Resources

• deliverbirthjustice.org
• Download our Deliver Birth Justice brochure
• Campaign video
• Follow the campaign on Deliver Birth Justice Facebook, Deliver Birth Justice Twitter and Deliver Birth Justice Instagram. Please like, share and retweet to raise awareness of this important issue.
• See an article featuring the campaign in the San Francisco Chronicle
• Read our op-ed on this campaign in CalMatters

Listen to your community

Hear stories from mothers and learn about our sister program, Black Infant Health.

Do further research

Contact us if you would like more information or data about aggregate maternal and infant health indicators for Contra Costa County.