In February, Urban Baby Beginnings was awarded a $1 million grant to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality in Norfolk, Virginia. Urban Baby Beginnings, a Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach community-based maternal health hub and home-visiting program designed to reach birthing and postpartum families regardless of income, received the grant from Merck for Mothers’ Safer Childbirth Cities initiative. This initiative focuses on helping cities become safer, more equitable places to give birth. Urban Baby Beginnings will use the grant to launch its newest telehealth platform and ground team, REBYRTH.

The three-year project, in partnership with Mother Health International and Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, will bring communities and stakeholders together to identify key drivers of maternal and infant health disparities and develop projects to reduce maternal and infant mortality. The REBYRTH platform will connect Medicaid- and WIC-eligible pregnant women of color in Norfolk with maternal health perinatal specialists of color, including community doulas.

For more information or to donate, visit UrbanBabyBeginnings.org.