Expecting Justice
San Francisco Collective for Healthy Births
Led by the California Department of Public Health and San Francisco Department of Public Health, Expecting Justice, aims to improve maternal and infant health among Black and Pacific Islander people, and reduce preterm births in those communities. Today, Black women in San Francisco are twice as likely to experience preterm birth than white women. The preterm birth rate for Pacific Islander women in San Francisco is 11 percent. The initiative envisions that every birth among those communities will be healthy and full-term by the year 2030 and that systems and services will coordinate efforts to reduce stress and the impact of systemic racism on Black and Pacific Islander parents across San Francisco. Visit Expecting Justice's Website.
San Francisco Department of Public Health's Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Section:
The Backbone Organization
Expecting Justice staff standing underneath the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. From left to right: Breezy Powell, Administrative Assistant, Zea Malawa, Physician Director, Michaela Taylor, Intern, Solaire Spellen, Program Associate
Expecting Justice's Initiatives
Since 2017, Expecting Justice, a Black-led collaborative, has set out to address the enduring legacy of racism that continues to shape the city’s interactions with Black and Pacific Islander women, who experience a disproportionate burden of preterm birth. Expecting Justice has advanced four initiatives:
A city-wide pilot program to provide culturally congruent doula support to all Black and PI mothers through prenatal, birth, and postnatal periods.
Align and coordinate siloed perinatal services across the city
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