In 2019, when Cleopatra Robinson lost her best friend, LaShana ‘Shana’ Gilmore, she never imagined that six years later, she’d lead a fast-growing non-profit foundation while preparing to open her first home for pregnant women. LaShana’s passing fueled Cleopatra’s work today, but her love for her friend and community keeps her committed to the mission of A Home from Shana Foundation.
In addition to her role as founder and president of A Home From Shana Foundation, Robinson is a certified birth doula and maternal health advocate who has forged a pathway to her local legislators to advance her mission – saving Black moms. She works tirelessly to advocate for pregnant women and families with the deep hope and desire that no family will have to face the same devastating loss she experienced with Shana.
In 2019, LaShana was 34 years old and pregnant with her second child when she went into labor. After suffering complications during delivery, she tragically passed away. Cleo recalls being told that there was nothing more that could be done. Today, through A Home from Shana Foundation, she does all she can to support pregnant people and families in her community.
LaShana’s story is one of far too many. In Philadelphia, between 2013 and 2018, 110 people died during or within one year of the end of pregnancy. The city’s maternal mortality rate is higher than the national average, and statistics show that black women and families are four times more likely to die before, during, or after childbirth than their white counterparts. Just last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released their latest findings, with maternal mortality rates decreasing for all populations — except black women.
“In 2023, the national maternal mortality rate for black women was 50.3 per 100,000 live births, nearly four times higher than the rate for White women (14.5), and even greater than the rates for Hispanic (12.4) and Asian (10.7) women.” The latest report in Pennsylvania shows that more than 93 percent of maternal deaths in the state are preventable.
These disparities were brought to the attention of Pennsylvania State Representative Morgan Cephas (HD 192) at a community town hall in 2018. When a town hall attendee asked the panel of legislators what they were doing about black women dying during childbirth, Cephas admitted to not knowing much about the issue. Reflecting on that moment, Cephas says she didn’t have an answer back then.
Still, as one of only a few black women serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, she felt a responsibility to learn more and figure out what types of state policies and investments could make a difference. That same year, she introduced a package of bills focused on maternal health. However, moving state legislation isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight, so she committed to getting her colleagues on board by helping them understand the issue better.
From public policy hearings to private meetings with birth workers, healthcare providers, managed care organizations, advocates, and families, Cephas and her team worked to build relationships with stakeholders, touching each end of the issue to inform her work.
Nearly a year after being questioned about maternal health at the community town hall, Cephas learned of the passing of her constituent, a young woman who was around her age at the time, LaShana Gilmore. Not long after, Cleopatra reached out to her Representative’s office.
Today, Cleopatra and her team are plugged into the policy space, and the connection is mutually supportive: Cephas and her colleagues call on A Home from Shana and other stakeholder organizations to inform their work, and the stakeholders and advocates know they can call on the policymakers for support.
In October 2023, Representative Cephas, alongside her colleagues, Rep. Gina H. Curry (HD 164- Delaware County) and LaTasha D. Mayes (HD 24- Allegheny County), founded the Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus (PBMHC). The Caucus is a body of legislative members and community stakeholders that works to “boldly address the disturbing trends of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in [the] Commonwealth [of Pennsylvania].”
Stakeholder engagement in the Caucus is just as crucial as legislative Member participation: “It’s critical for us to have our stakeholders and advocates at the table,” Cephas says. “Getting feedback and input from those working on the ground helps us make sure the policies we’re fighting for will actually have the impact our communities need.”
Just months after its launch, members of the PBMHC introduced a package of eight bills, coined the Pennsylvania MOMNIBUS. In less than a year, five of the bills passed the Pennsylvania House, and two were fully passed by the House and the Senate, signed into law in late 2024.
Act 102 requires education on perinatal and postpartum depression, increasing awareness for pregnant people and families, while Act 115 extends Medicaid coverage to cover doula services, removing cost barriers to essential care.
“I’ve witnessed our policymakers trying to prove how important a Black woman’s life is,” Cleopatra says. “As people with lived experience, we should be working hand-in-hand. As boots on the ground, we owe it to ourselves and the people we serve to build relationships with our policymakers.”
“Love is an action. Love is also contagious,” Cleopatra emphasizes. In advocating for Black moms and babies, community members and policymakers alike embody love in action. The goal is to ensure that no one else experiences the heartbreak that families who have lost a loved one to maternal mortality know all too well.
About A Home From Shana Foundation
A Home from Shana Foundation is a 501c3 organization working to address Black Maternal Health disparities that contribute to unacceptably poor Maternal and Infant health outcomes in underserved communities. Learn more here: https://homefromshana.org/
About State Representative Morgan Cephas
Representative Cephas was first elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2016. She represents the 192nd legislative district. She currently serves as the Philadelphia House Delegation Chair and Co-chair of the Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus.
About the Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus
The Pennsylvania Black Maternal Health Caucus was formed in 2023 with state Reps. Morgan Cephas, D-Philadelphia, Gina H. Curry, D-Delaware, and La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, serving as co-chairs.
The Caucus hosts a virtual“Bruch N’ Learn” segment and will host a series of policy and advocacy activities during Black Maternal Health Week 2025 on April 14-16th. Learn more here: https://www.pablackmaternalhealth.com.
Disclosure: Anjelica currently serves as Chief of Staff for State Rep. Morgan Cephas, where she works directly on the issue of maternal health.
Anjelica Sanders is a community journalist who covers the intersection of health, policy, community, and culture in Philadelphia. A West Philly native with a public health and policy background, she uses storytelling to drive impact and connect communities.
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