AUSTIN, Texas -- In a state where women are dying from childbirth more so than anywhere else in the country, black women in Texas bear the highest risk of maternal mortality.

A local group is raising awareness in hopes of reversing these rising rates.

Tuesday at the Huston-Tilloston University Chapel, the message about maternal mortality among black women was clear.

“It’s time to show up for black mothers. It’s time for us to acknowledge that racism is the underlying issue that’s causing black women to experience adverse outcomes four times that of white women, when they are delivering babies in the state of Texas,” said Rev. Deneen Robinson, program director of The Afiya Center.

The Black Mamas Community Collective hosted the summit, where researchers, social workers, health care providers, policy makers and mothers addressed the frightening frequency that’s only been rising. 

“We see such a disparity in deaths between white women and black women we need to be concerned about what are the convergence of contributing factors to them dying,” said Dr. Michele A. Rountree, an associated professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin.

A  2016 joint report by the Texas Department of State Health Services and Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force found that while black women make up for 11 percent of births in the state, they account for almost 29 percent of maternal deaths. Black Mamas Community Collective board member Nakeenya Wilson said her nurse was ill-prepared during the birth of her son. 

“[My son] wasn’t even breathing so the NICU staff had to come in and I was hemorrhaging and there was so just so many things going on. She had to actually be pulled out the room because she was not equipped to care for me,” Wilson said. 

The day-long summit sparks a yearlong study working to change the statistics and ultimately save lives. Rountree said the School of Social Work received a $300,000 grant from St. David’s Foundation to analyze postpartum access and outcomes among black mothers. 

“We need policies that are inclusive of the needs for being able to receive the necessary health care, in order to ensure that you can deliver a baby and that you can also during the very stressful time in the postpartum that you have, the support that’s necessary for not only the woman to thrive, but also her family to thrive, as well,” Rountree said.

The summit featured panels and programming about reproductive justice, existing racial inequities, strategic planning, as well as networking. 

“One of the positives of an event like this and a space like this is to be heard,” Wilson said. “To hopefully garner individuals and organizations that are willing to make systemic changes to eliminate experiences like mine from happening to other people in the future.”

This year, the UT School of Social Work received a $300,000 grant to analyze postpartum access and outcomes among black mothers.