Mamatoto Village is tackling a major problem in D.C.: bad outcomes for Black pregnant people, and the structural racism that causes them.

The perinatal provider and advocacy organization opened a new location in Ward 7. Residents of Wards 7 and 8 made up 70% of pregnancy-associated deaths in recent years.

“There’s nothing about Black birthing people that makes them more likely to die,” says the study’s co-author. “It’s the environments to which they’re exposed in our social, environmental, and health systems.”