March 24, 2024

The Honorable Mark Warner

703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Mark Warner:

As a voting Democrat, Certified Professional Midwife, and Registered Nurse specializing in

Maternity Health in Virginia, I request your support with the Perinatal Workforce Act S.1710.

In the United States, racial disparities in maternal health result in inequitable health outcomes.
The most vulnerable are black women and their babies, who are 3 to 4 times more likely to
experience maternal and infant mortality in comparison to white women (Leise et al., 2022).
Black mothers are less likely to have access to quality prenatal care and have been subjected to
systemic racism by their healthcare providers (Leise et al., 2022). Minority mothers request
culturally congruent care to establish a trusting relationship with their healthcare team, which can
support improved patient care and maternal and infant wellbeing. (Altman et al., 2020).

We can listen to black mothers through growing culturally diverse healthcare teams supporting
the Perinatal Workforce Act, piloted by Gwen Moore of the House of Representatives and
Senators Tammy Baldwin and Jeff Merkley. The Act acknowledges the negative impact of
maternity care deserts on adverse outcomes. According to Fontenot et al. (2020), 30.8% of
counties in VA are maternity care deserts. Recruiting and supporting students of color is an
action plan supported by research and aligned with the Perinatal Workforce Act (Altman et al.,
2020).

I support the Perinatal Workforce Act because mothers are the center of every family, and with
healthy births and postpartum, we support thriving Virginia communities. Virginia's support of
S.1710 declares the necessity for improving maternal health for all.

Sincerely,

Desiree Cripps CPM, RN

467 Delicious RD.
Linden, VA. 22642
 References

Altman, M., McLemore, M., Oseguera, T., Lyndon, A. & Franck, L. (2020). Listening to
women: Recommendations from women of color to improve experiences in pregnancy
and birth care. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 65(4), 466-
473. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13102

Fontenot, J., Lucas, R., Stoneburner, A., Brigance, C., Hubbard, K., Jones, E. & Mishkin, K.
(2023).Where you live matters: Maternity care deserts and the crisis of access and equity
in Virginia. March of Dimes.
https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/reports/virginia/maternity-care-deserts

Liese, K., Stewart, K., Pearson, P., Lofton, S., Mbande, T., Patil, C., Liu, L. & Geller, S. (2022).
Melanated group midwifery care: Centering the voices of the black birthing community.
J Midwifery Womens Health, 67(6), 696-700. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13438