National Harbor 5K spotlights Black maternal health during awareness week

Families filled National Harbor's Plaza Stage on Saturday morning as Mamatoto Village used its first Black Maternal Health Week 5K Walk to turn a scenic county destination into a public warning about maternal deaths. The Oxon Hill event ran from 8 a.m. to noon and welcomed the whole family, tying the walk to Black Maternal Health Week's 10th anniversary and its 2026 theme, Rooted in Justice & Joy.

The message was grounded in numbers that remain stark. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women, and Prince George's County data have shown the burden locally as well. Black, non-Hispanic mothers had the county's highest pregnancy-related maternal mortality rate between 2008 and 2017, at 37.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. Maryland's 2022 Maternal Mortality Review report said two of the 17 pregnancy-related deaths reviewed for 2020 occurred in Prince George's County.

Mamatoto Village, founded in 2013 and now in its 13th year, said the walk was meant to widen access to culturally responsive care and bring people together around action, not just awareness. Proceeds from the event support doula services, childbirth education classes, lactation support, workforce development for community birthworkers and wraparound care. The nonprofit said it is reflecting on more than a decade of impact during Black Maternal Health Week, and DC News Now reported that Mamatoto has maintained a 0% maternal mortality rate among its clients over the past 10 years.

The county has been pushing its own response. Prince George's County held a Maternal Health Summit on April 8, and the county health department's Maternal and Infant Health Programs continue to provide services and educational information aimed at healthier pregnancies and better birth outcomes. Families looking for support can start with those county programs or with Mamatoto Village's perinatal services, which center doula care, lactation help and childbirth education. At National Harbor, the 5K made clear that Black maternal health is not an abstract campaign slogan. It is a local equity issue that still shapes who gets care, who gets support and who survives pregnancy in Prince George's County.