Black Maternal Health Week is a time to uplift the voices, stories, and work of those fighting for safer, more equitable care for Black moms and birthing people. This year’s theme, “Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy,” is one that deeply resonates with Gabby Albert of 4Kira4Moms.

Here, Gabby shares how her team is supporting families, educating communities, and pushing for real change through bold initiatives like 4Kira4Dads and Project 2030. Her work is a powerful reminder that when we come together, we can save lives. (And you can read her advocacy advice for Black families here!) 

Advocacy is such a huge part of your work at 4 Kira 4 Moms! What does advocacy for Black maternal health look like in 2025?

Advocacy for us is community in action. People always reference the African proverb “that it takes a village to raise a child” but we believe it starts with maternal health “that it takes a village to ensure a healthy and joyous birth.” So, we are focused on educating and providing resources for the community support pregnant mothers. Two specific initiatives for 2025 are the launch of 4Kira4Dads Paternal Centers of Excellence and our Project 2030.

4Kira4Dads is a first of its kind, FREE tool and program designed specifically to support expectant fathers as they navigate the pregnancy journey with their pregnant partners. This program was developed with the goal of helping fathers better understand the biological, psychological, and social changes that occur both for mom and dad during this time so that they can increase their ability to navigate the experience safely and successfully.

The second is our Project 2030 white paper to be launched by Fall 2025. At 4Kira4Moms, we are steadfast in our commitment to achieving the goal of zero preventable pregnancy-related deaths by the year 2030. To this end, we are convening a team of leading experts in maternal health to draft a visionary white paper outlining what the future of maternal health should look like in the United States by 2030. This paper will address the current barriers to optimal care and provide actionable recommendations for transforming clinical care, community support, and policy to improve maternal health outcomes and end the maternal health crisis within the next five years.

What do you believe is the most effective way to raise awareness and mobilize people?

The most effective way to mobilize is to leverage resources and collaborate. There is power in numbers and when we come together as unified voices we are able to amplify the movement and cause greater awareness and action!

What are the most urgent issues 4Kira4Moms is focusing on right now?

Given the current climate within our country and the attack on DEI and women’s issues, 4Kira4Moms is focused on ensuring that maternal health and equity for all mothers is deemed a priority and that it’s seen as the bipartisan human rights issue it is. Not a political issue for the left and right to fight on, but a unifying issue that we can all agree together on. As Charles Johnson our founder always says “There are only two types of people in this world, either you are a Mom or you have a Mom.” Therefore, the health of our mothers is critical to us all. This is why our advocacy programs— 4Kira4Dads, Project 2030—calling an end to all preventable maternal related deaths by 2030, and the relaunch of our Maternal Mortality and now Morbidity Team. 

The MMRT is a direct-response program offering wraparound services, resources, and trauma support within 24 hours of either of the following: Death of a pregnant/birthing mother or a near-miss event  (when a mother nearly dies but survives a life-threatening complication during pregnancy/childbirth, are our major focus areas.

We believe these focus areas allow us to make direct and timely impact as well address the long term realities of change.

Can you share some recent successes that highlight the impact of your work?

In 2024 4Kira4Moms spoke/attended/hosted 50 events, speaking engagements, conferences, workshops across the United States. We supported -20 families across the Maternal Mortality Response Team, and most recently we announced our merger with March for Moms to create a unified force in the fight for maternal health equity! 4Kira4Moms is honored to continue March for Moms incredible legacy and impact!

In January we also held a press conference and announced a protest against Cedars Sinai Beverly Hills Hospital to demand that they meet the recommendations of the Office of Civil Rights following an investigation that finished in November 2024…We are proud to have been a catalyst to get such a major institution to improve their accountability related to black maternal mortality.  We are in discussions with Cedars-Sinai now to address our demands.

What role does education play in 4Kira4Moms’ advocacy efforts?

“Educate. Advocate. Legislate” are 4Kira4Moms’ three strategic pillars, so education is at the heart of what we do. Given that the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the industrialized world even though we have the highest cost of healthcare, we believe that not only is awareness of the maternal mortality crisis necessary but being able to provide the tips, tools, and resources necessary to help families ensure the health and safety of their mothers is critical! 

How do you ensure that your resources are accessible and culturally relevant to the communities you serve?

Through collaboration we work to increase our reach across all demographics, especially recognizing that black, brown, and now indigenous women are three to four times more likely to die than their Caucasian counterparts. Therefore, we seek to educate the masses, to make maternal mortality known as a human rights issue not a women’s issue.

In what ways does 4 Kira 4 Moms support Black mothers throughout their entire maternity journey, from preconception through postpartum care?

4Kira4Moms is a natural hub of resources and connection points for aspiring and expecting mothers to get the resources, tools and support needed for black mothers during pregnancy. This assists mothers across the journey whether you are looking got a doula, midwife, lactation specialist, mental health therapists, support services, legal services…we will assist all families with helping to provide the right service providers and support services.

The development of our fatherhood initiative is designed to be Fathers in service of mothers- redefining the environment, changing the narrative and roles of men in maternal health! Allowing men to take their rightful place in the room as the advocate to their partner vs. pushing self-advocacy on a woman during birth. This provides support across the journey including postpartum.

Donate to 4Kira4Moms now!

More Black Maternal Health Change-makers:

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