Held annually from April 11-17, Black Maternal Health Week is a national call for awareness, activism, and community building. It kicks off with the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, when many take the opportunity to amplify efforts underway across the world to eliminate maternal mortality worldwide.
Here in Dane County, it’s a moment to elevate the 2025–2027 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and the work it will launch. The Dane County CHNA is conducted collaboratively with Healthy Dane Collaborative (UnityPoint Health – Meriter, SSM Health St. Mary’s, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Stoughton Health and Public Health Madison & Dane County) to listen carefully, gather data, and build a shared assessment that centers the voices of those most impacted by health disparities.
The newly released CHNA identifies four continued health priorities:
- Reproductive Justice
- Chronic Conditions
- Mental Health & Substance Use
- Injury & Safety
During Black Maternal Health Week, we shine a spotlight on reproductive justice while continuing to advance all four CHNA priorities year-round. Reproductive justice is about more than access to healthcare—it’s about rights: The rights to have children, to not have children, and to parent children in safe and sustainable communities. It means confronting the systemic inequities that continue to put Black women and birthing people at a disproportionate risk of poor maternal outcomes—including higher rates of morbidity and mortality.
These aren’t new issues. They are persistent, complex challenges that require long-term commitment. First named in the 2017 CHNA, these themes remain urgent today, underscoring the need for sustained action.
The four priorities were informed by quantitative data and extensive input from more than 40 neighborhood and community-based organizations across Dane County. At the heart of this work are the authentic relationships we’ve built together and continue to nurture with our community partners.
These partnerships are the foundation of both the CHNA and the action plan that follows: our Community Health Implementation Strategy (CHIS). This plan translates the CHNA’s priorities into tangible action by guiding how partner organizations invest time, funding and people power over the next three years. It connects data to dignity, policy to lived experience and intention to impact.
Our approach is rooted in the principle: “Nothing About Us, Without Us.” This is more than a motto. It’s a commitment to developing plans that center individuals in the community. Whether shaping healthcare, education, public policy or community services, this principle ensures that those most affected by disparities are not just heard but prioritized. The community itself offers the blueprint for building better health outcomes.
This week serves as both a reminder and a rallying call: improving maternal health outcomes for women and birthing people is inseparable from the broader work of equity and justice. A key program under our reproductive justice priority area, that was created based on what we heard from the community, is ConnectRx Wisconsin.
Since its launch in March 2022, ConnectRx Wisconsin has supported over 1,200 Black birthing persons and welcomed 419 babies into the program. This comprehensive care coordination program supports Black pregnant women and birthing persons in Dane County, from pregnancy through one year postpartum. It operates under the umbrella of the Saving Our Babies Initiative, aiming to reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes and improve maternal and infant health. We are proud to employ the clinical Community Health Workers at UW Health and partner with the Dane County Health Council on this broader clinical-community collective impact model that has served hundreds of Black birthing persons and families. For more information, visit the Saving Our Babies website.
UW Health’s community health improvement work is rooted in our commitment to social impact. For us, Black Maternal and Child Health Week is a week to acknowledge all the work being done in our community and recommit to the work ahead.
Adrian Jones, MPH, is Director of Community Health Improvement for UW Health.
