Black women in Los Angeles County are four times more likely to die because of pregnancy and its complications than women of any other race. In one of the wealthiest countries  world, Black mothers are dying from preventable causes at rates that continue to rise….

To address the lack of access to and knowledge of resources in our community, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) is meeting our women where we live, work, and play by bringing services to us at their newest Inglewood Health Center. This location also serves as the flagship for the Black Health Initiative, an agency-wide program designed to improve the overall well-being of our communities by empowering us to advocate for ourselves toward better health outcomes.

The Black Health Initiative is working to improve Black maternal health by providing coaching to address chronic conditions before, during, and after pregnancy, acknowledging underlying social needs that impact health, and connecting patients to resources and programs needed to flourish.

As a nurse practitioner with PPLA, I am proud to be a part of a team that understands that delivering patient-centered reproductive and sexual health care with dignity and respect is critical to improving maternal health and addressing the disparities that Black women face.

The Inglewood Health Center reinforces PPLA’s commitment to providing our community with the resources needed to combat health inequities by offering prenatal care, doula services, behavioral health services, contraceptive counseling, birth control, and more. For services not offered at the health center, patients are referred to additional care that is accessible, culturally specific, and supports overall health and well-being….

The above comes from an April 21 article in the Los Angeles Sentinel by Kara James, a nurse practitioner for  Planned Parenthood Los Angeles,