On Wednesday, the usually buttoned-up North Carolina Legislative Building took on the feel of a community forum, as dozens of lawmakers and maternal-health advocates packed the halls to push for a new state MOMnibus package. Their mission was blunt and urgent: close the stubborn gap in pregnancy and childbirth outcomes between Black and white mothers, and fund the kind of community-based support they say can stop preventable deaths.
Backers of the effort are urging legislators to steer fresh state money to groups that already work directly with Black mothers, from pregnancy through postpartum, and to boost public awareness about the extra risks Black women face when they give birth. That push includes a focus on implicit-bias training and community-rooted care strategies, according to ABC11. State Sen. Natalie Murdock, who represents District 20, told supporters she has zeroed in on securing funding for nonprofits and grassroots organizations that support Black moms and on rebuilding trust with a health-care system that has not always earned it.
What the MOMnibus Bill Would Do
The latest proposal, filed in last year’s session as MOMnibus 3.0, centers on a Maternal Care Access Grant Program. The program would offer competitive grants to community-based organizations that run evidence-based programs aimed at preventing maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among Black women. According to the bill text from the North Carolina General Assembly, individual awards would range from $10,000 to $50,000.
The measure does not just hand out checks and walk away. It would prioritize applicants led by Black women and require the Department of Health and Human Services to do proactive outreach and offer help with the grant application process. Backers say that structure is meant to get money into the hands of organizations that community members already trust, rather than forcing them to navigate another distant bureaucracy.
Why Advocates Say the Stakes Are So High
Advocates and researchers point to racial gaps that remain stubbornly wide, even for those who seemingly do everything right. Pregnancy-related mortality for some college-educated Black women can be higher than for white women with less education, a pattern experts link to structural racism, chronic stress and unequal treatment inside the health-care system, according to reporting by North Carolina Health News.
Organizers behind the MOMnibus argue that culturally aligned support is not a bonus, it is the main event. They point to doulas, extended postpartum services and targeted community grants as key tools for narrowing those racial gaps and preventing crises before they start.
Politics, Process and What Happens Next
The measure, listed as S571 (MOMnibus 3.0), was filed in March 2025 and names Sen. Murdock as one of the primary sponsors. It currently sits in committee, with lawmakers in a short session juggling budget fights and a crowded agenda, according to LegiScan.
Supporters are betting that public pressure from advocacy days like Wednesday, combined with a governor-led push for stronger Medicaid funding, could help convince lawmakers to tuck at least parts of the MOMnibus into this year’s budget talks, as reported by News From The States.
Advocates who rallied at the Legislative Building say they are not going anywhere. They plan to keep pressing legislators to back the grant program and bias-reduction measures, arguing that community-led funding and clear accountability are the surest routes to safer births. If lawmakers follow through, supporters say the program could widen access to doulas, mental-health care and basic transportation help, all of which they view as critical tools for preventing pregnancy-related deaths that should never happen in the first place.
