BALDWIN HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — For expectant mothers, the prospect of a new baby can be joyous.
But for some in Los Angeles, pregnancy can be rife with real life-or-death concerns.
It’s for these reasons the nonprofit Project Pit is launching its first Maternal Health Summit this Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
Click here to register for the summit
The free, one-day event will create awareness and drive solutions for maternal health challenges facing women, especially in our Black and brown communities.
“One thing that we have realized is it is a growing fear when a Black woman goes in to give birth,” creative director Maryam Dorsey said. “When we go and we give life, we are also risking our lives.”
The statistics are sobering.
Black and Indigenous women face the highest mortality risks, while 80% of maternal deaths could be avoided with proper care and education, Project Pit reports.
Saturday’s summit is meant to empower women to advocate for themselves.
Participants can enjoy a day of relaxation and access to free resources, like panel discussions and kids’ zones.
Project Pit will also host a community baby shower, in partnership with It’s Bigger Than Us LA, providing free diapers, baby formula, wipes, new breast pumps and more, while supplies last.
It’s resources like these that Dorsey, a mother of three who also experienced three miscarriages, said she wished she had access to earlier in motherhood.
“A lot of women are afraid,” Dorsey said. “Sometimes insurance is a barrier, finances are a barrier, so be able to be able to come somewhere for completely free and be able to get those resources, I mean, it’s indescribable.”
During the event, Project Pit will also honor two celebrity guests who advocate on behalf of women and their maternal health, including actress and singer Halle Bailey, and songwriter Faith Evans, who launched a nonprofit Ryders Room, which helps children and families navigate disabilities and different needs.
Registration for the event is free through Eventbrite.
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza is located at 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.