On February 12, Reproaction launched a weekly social media push to educate the public about reproductive justice issues that impact maternal and infant mortality rates. While the United States spends the most on healthcare per capita than any other nation in the world, it has the worst maternal and infant mortality rates of any industrialized nation. In fact, the U.S. is ranked alongside countries like Vietnam and Uzbekistan. Infant mortality is commonly denoted as the canary in the coal mine for a nation’s well-being. Maternal and infant mortality rates are inextricably linked because the health of the baby is largely dependent on the health of the birthing parent. Since we are a reproductive justice organization, our discussions center women of color. The #MaternalMondays hashtag is a way for us to draw attention to the effects that issues usually considered unassociated with maternal and infant mortality rates are brought into the discussion.

On Mondays, we will be sharing vital information and resources about maternal and infant health on three major forms of social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Since we’re a direct-action organization that values people power, we have made it really easy for everyone to join us. You don’t have to be a savvy social media user to participate!

How to participate:

1. Monday morning look for the day’s theme by searching for the hashtag #MaternalMondays on your preferred social media site.
2. You can choose to share the prepared posts we provide on our Reproaction Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts directly into your social media outlet of choice, or you can create and share your own.
3. Include the hashtag #MaternalMondays in your post so people can find your post and promote it.

Check out some examples from our first #MaternalMondays where we highlighted racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality rates.