About Expecting Justice
Expecting Justice is a Black-led collaborative initially founded in San Francisco, focused on improving maternal and infant health in Black and Pacific Islander communities. Black and Pacific Islander families experience adverse birth outcomes at significantly higher rates due to the intersection of racism and birth outcomes. Before a Black or PI child enters the world, they are impacted by historical and ongoing discrimination in housing, employment, and healthcare.
Racism’s enduring legacy continues to affect Black and Pacific Islander women. A transformational approach is needed—one that values and includes African American and Pacific Islander women throughout their lives to improve birth outcomes.
We are uniting our knowledge, resources, and efforts to identify and repair the impact of racism on the health of mothers, families, and children. We envision a future where, by 2030, every birth among Black and Pacific Islander communities will be healthy and full-term. Our aim is for systems and services to come together to alleviate stress and combat the impact of systemic racism on Black and Pacific Islander parents in communities nationwide.
Our initiative aims for every birth among these communities to be healthy and full-term by 2030, with systems and services coordinating efforts to reduce stress and address the impact of systemic racism on Black and Pacific Islander parents across the nation.
Our Work
Our work is driven by three strategic focus areas: Anti-Racism Promotion, Doula Access, and the Abundant Birth Project. Our focus areas complement one another to address key dimensions of vulnerability faced by Black and PI women and people during pregnancy and childbirth: interpersonal and institutional racism in the healthcare and public health systems, plus structural racism manifested as the racial wealth gap. Based on deep engagement with community members and other stakeholders, we believe this combined approach is imperative to ensure safe and healthy childbirth for Black and PI mothers.
Abundant Birth Project
In the United States, racial disparities in birth outcomes remain prevalent, with income inequality being a significant contributing factor. Structural interventions to reduce the racial wealth gap are essential and hold promise for narrowing longstanding inequities. Expecting Justice, in partnership with academic communities, piloted the first pregnancy income supplement program in the US, the Abundant Birth Project (ABP).
Now offered in Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and Riverside Counties, ABP provides an opportunity to transform communities into places where all children have a healthy start in life.
Doula Access
EJ is committed to increasing the economic sustainability of the doula workforce through targeted policy changes and workforce development. Join us in our efforts to uplift doulas and ensure better maternal health for all.
Expecting Justice launched its work in San Francisco, where many Black and Pacific Islander women are deprived of crucial resources—like housing, quality healthcare, nourishing food, good jobs, and livable wages—necessary for healthy pregnancies and births. As we shift our focus from our beginnings in San Francisco, our aim is to broaden our efforts and address these issues more comprehensively. We believe that no single individual or organization can tackle this urgent issue alone. By coming together as a community, we can create environments where every child can be healthy, thrive, and participate in a vibrant future for generations to come.