The mission of Black Maternal Health Week is to bring national awareness to health issues affecting Black pregnant women. Jennie Joseph has become one of the world's most respected midwives and authorities on women's health. She was named one of Time magazine’s 2022 Women of the Year.She joined a powerhouse of panelists Thursday at the Smith Center in Orlando to work to improve Black maternal health."Everybody can tell you about one person or more who has been harmed or has died. This is at a crisis level but we will just not name it such,” Joseph said. The facts are the U.S. has the highest pregnancy-related death rate in the developed world.Research shows Black women are three times more likely to die in pregnancy and postpartum than white women. Rep. Kamia Brown of Ocoee hosted the event.She's championed a half a dozen women's health bills into law including expanding postpartum Medicaid benefits from just six weeks to 12 months.“It's important that they receive the health care that they need, or the hemorrhaging that happens during these times which is one of the key reasons these moms are dying,” Brown said.Other major factors include implicit bias or the stereotypes that affect our understanding. Sometimes that happens among those caring for you.“One of the nurses confessed in front of me, yes I thought it was because of the color of your skin that you could take more pain,” Minyon Outlaw, a certified nurse midwife, said. Another barrier is access to health care.“Medicaid expansion could be the thing that bridges that gap to access,” pediatrician Dr. Marie Samerson said.Florida is one of only 12 states that chose not to expand Medicaid. Doctors, doulas and midwives all want to change what's become a critical situation.They say the structure of how care is provided has to change."It's going to take us partnering with obstetrics, like really becoming a team, a solid team to be able change it,” Keisha Lockett, a certified Black doula with Dona International, said.Another bill backed by Brown, which passed this year, is the Donor Human Milk Bank Services legislation.This allows Medicaid recipients to receive donor breast milk at no cost.