St. David’s Foundation is trying to create a “perinatal safe zone” in Central Texas with a new $1 million grant initiative.
The foundation has awarded 12 grants to 10 local organizations working to improve maternal health outcomes among people of color.
The one-year grants range from $15,140 to $150,000. They are a response to sobering statistics about perinatal health outcome disparities.
In a 2018 study by the Texas Department of State Health Services, Black women in Texas had a pregnancy-related mortality rate 2.3 times higher than that of white women. A 2020 study by the department showed that 89% of all pregnancy-related deaths in Texas could have been prevented; Black and Hispanic mothers had higher rates of severe maternity complications than white mothers.
“We already know what an unsafe zone looks like,” said Jasmine Roussell, a program case manager for Mama Sana Vibrant Woman, which is using its $150,000 grant from St. David’s Foundation to hire a bilingual case manager who will connect more people to doulas, midwives and other available resources.
This is the fourth major grant this year for Austin nonprofit organizations working to improve health outcome equity during and after pregnancy.
In April, Merck for Mothers and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative gave $1 million to Austin’s Maternal Health Equity Collaborative, a group of local nonprofits that are working together to provide more resources for mothers, including child care before and after birth.
In December, the nonprofit Any Baby Can received a $2 million grant from the United Health Foundation to expand its Nurse-Family Partnership program, which provides nursing visits to new moms.
In November, the women’s philanthropy group Impact Austin gave $40,000 to Black Mamas ATX and its collaborators to expand perinatal care in Manor, which did not have an obstetrician serving the area.
This focus is not new to St. David’s Foundation. Its last two big grant-funding rounds concentrated on health equity issues and children’s health.
This grant, though, has a concentrated focus. Lourdes Rodriguez, a public health expert and the St. David’s Foundation senior program officer overseeing the Perinatal Safe Zone grant, said that while every program funded by this grant is different, the foundation hopes to create a strong network of organizations that share resources and best practices and, ultimately, reduce maternal mortality long term.
St. David’s Foundation was looking for organizations that work with people of color on pregnancy and post-pregnancy health, as well as organizations led by people of color and/or working in underserved rural areas. Of the grant recipients, 92% are led by people of color, 75% are new grantees for the foundation and 8% work in rural areas.
Rodriguez said the foundation looked for projects with the potential to create substantial change that it can “support for years to come.”
In addition to the grants, St. David’s Foundation will host events that bring together grant recipients as well as others in the community interested in improving maternal health equity and outcomes. That could include businesses and other nonprofit groups that work with pregnant people but not necessarily in services involving pregnancy.