San Francisco Mayor London Breed has announced a new initiative to pay Black and Pacific Islander expectant mothers $1,000 a month.
The Abundant Birth Project is a pilot program that will provide 150 women in San Francisco with the monthly supplement for the duration of their pregnancy and the first six months of the baby’s life.
The goal is to study how monthly support helps achieve better maternal health and birthing outcomes.
The ultimate goal of the project is to eventually provide support up to two years post-pregnancy.
Mayor Breed said in a prepared statement:
Providing guaranteed income support to mothers during pregnancy is an innovative and equitable approach that will ease some of the financial stress that all too often keep women from being able to put their health first.
The Abundant Birth Project is rooted in racial justice and recognizes that Black and Pacific Islander mothers suffer disparate health impacts, in part because of the persistent wealth and income gap.
Black families also account for half of the maternal deaths and over 15% of infant deaths, despite representing only 4% of all births. Pacific Islander families face similar disparities, according to Expecting Justice.
Read more about this awesome program here.
Photo by George Jr Kamau from Pexels
