San Francisco Is Giving Pregnant Black & Pacific Islander Women $1,000 A Month

Rates of premature births & infant mortality are significantly higher for women of color compared to white women, and the new supplement is designed to narrow racial & financial disparities among expectant mothers.

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San Francisco is launching a new program that will provide monthly financial assistance to Black and Pacific Islander expecting moms. 

On Monday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the new pilot program called The Abundant Birth Project. The program will provide $1,000 a month to pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women through the duration of their pregnancy and for six months after they give birth. 

150 women will be chosen to receive the monthly supplement, and the project will work closely with the city’s “pregnancy support services” to determine who will be eligible to receive the money. The project organizers hope to expand and provide the monthly payments for up to two years after the baby is born.

Mayor Breed said the supplemental income will help expectant mothers “put their health first” when they normally wouldn’t because of financial restraints. 

Prematurity is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the U.S., according to the March of Dimes. Breed’s office said prematurity is also linked to behavioral developmental issues, learning difficulties, and chronic diseases. The office also said that in San Francisco, “Black infants are almost twice as likely to be born prematurely compared with white infants,” and “Pacific Islander infants have the second-highest preterm birth rate.” 

According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Black and Indigenous women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women in the U.S.

“Structural racism, which has left Black and Pacific Islander communities particularly exposed to COVID-19, also threatens the lives of Black and PI mothers and babies,” San Francisco pediatrician Dr. Zea Malawa said in a statement. “It is exciting to be in a city that not only calls out racism as a problem, but also takes steps to heal the wounds left by decades of injustice and anti-Black sentiment.”

The Abundant Birth Project is in partnership with Expecting Justice, a Black woman-led nonprofit that works to provide care and financial assistance for Black and Pacific Islander mothers in the San Francisco area. The organization also focuses on the racial disparities Black and PI women face while pregnant and works to “ensure safe and healthy childbirth.”

“The Abundant Birth Project is rooted in racial justice and recognizes that Black and Pacific Islander mothers suffer disparate health impacts, in part because of the persistent wealth and income gap,” said Breed.