The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations – and 86% of these deaths are preventable. Cross-sector leaders gathered to discuss what employers can do now to address the maternal health crisis.
More Than What They Carry: Black Moms Claim Joy
The National Partnership for Women & Families highlights the voices of Black moms on staff in honor of the 10th anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week and its theme, Rooted in Justice and Joy. Joy in Black motherhood centers rest, healing, cultural affirmation, and the right to thrive.
Disrespected and Ignored: Black Pregnant Women Demand Congressional Action
Black women face a maternal mortality rate 3.5 times higher than their white counterparts and are twice as likely as white mothers to experience severe maternal morbidity. While we see these stories unfold time and time again, this crisis is preventable.
What the State of Play Instagram Lives Taught Us About the Rise of State Momnibus Legislation
As states carry maternal health forward amid federal uncertainty, advocates from Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, and Michigan share what it takes to pass and protect state Momnibus legislation grounded in community needs in NPWF’s two-part Instagram Live series. Energized conversations like these underscore not only why this work matters, but the urgency for states to advance the legislation families deserve without delay.
The Weaponization of Our Sensitive Data: Dangers to Our Health
Our personal data is being exploited as means to surveil, control, and punish those historically marginalized and dissenters. Since taking office for a second term, the Trump administration has aggressively sought unfettered access to personal data, putting our autonomy, health, and safety at risk.
CMS’s Transforming Maternal Health Model: A Roadmap For States
CMS’s recently launched Transforming Maternal Health model is a comprehensive framework for addressing the maternal health crisis.
Medicaid Matters for Me (Natasha’s Story)
Natasha is one of many Black mamas sharing their story this week to deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the United States. Her story particularly highlights why Medicaid Matters and why protecting Medicaid is a maternal health equity issue.
Trump Administration’s Executive Order Threatens a Historic Settlement That Could Improve Black Maternal Healthcare
The Biden Administration reached a historic settlement agreement between HHS OCR and Cedars-Sinai in the Kira Johnson case. Despite pushback from the current Administration, Cedars-Sinai has a vital opportunity to improve maternity care for Black birthing people.
Our bodies. Our voices. Our votes.
As we prepare to mark the 248th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we are increasingly reminded that our democracy has always been a work in progress – and that the progress we have achieved has never been easy or conflict-free.
New Bill Mental Health and MAMA Aims to Break Barriers and Advance Maternal Health
Maternal mental health conditions affect one in five women and can lead to adverse health outcomes for both mothers and infants. That’s why we’re so glad Congress has introduced the Mental Health and Making Access More Affordable (MAMA) Act to support mental health services for pregnant and postpartum individuals.
Black Maternal Health Week 2024: The Legacy of Black Maternal Wisdom
To tell the story of reproductive justice without the long history of the labor of Black women’s bodies is to do a disservice to the reproductive justice movement.
Bills in Limbo aren’t Helping Black Mothers
In honor of Black History Month, this piece highlights the Black Maternal Health Momnibus act as a labor of love and how keeping these bills in limbo isn’t helping black mothers.
Toward Maternity Care APMs That Improve Outcomes And Equity
One leading strategy for confronting the maternal health crisis is to advance payment and delivery reforms with the specific aim of improving maternal-newborn outcomes and increasing equity.
Black Women & Birthing People: We Inherit Joy, Too
Black women, in particular, are no strangers to traumatic experiences or being forced to be “strong” and “resilient” in the face of said trauma and, yet, somehow, finding joy anyhow. This is especially true for Black maternal health.
This Earth Day, Let’s Treat Environmental Justice as a Gender Equity Issue
As we celebrate Earth Day and reflect on the steps we can all take to protect our planet, it’s important to highlight that climate change doesn’t impact everyone equally. Decades of racist policies – from housing to infrastructure to economic policies – often restricted low-income communities and communities of color to areas with more environmental hazards and heavy pollution.
Braidwood v. Becerra Poses New Threat to Women and Families
No-Cost Preventive Services in Danger
In Braidwood Management, Judge O’Connor ruled unconstitutional a key provision of the ACA preventive health services requirement. This would undermine access to cost-free coverage for chronic disease screenings, cancer screenings, and vaccinations that over 150 million people benefit from.
NEWS: No, Justice Alito, reproductive justice is in the Constitution
Editor’s Note: The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and reverse a legal precedent of nearly 50 years is no surprise. The willingness of the Court’s majority to disrespect the importance of women’s autonomy and catapult them backwards into a 19th century, second-class status speaks volumes about the majority’s lack of respect for women’s equality and individual dignity.
Why Care in Community Birth Settings Works So Well for All Birthing People
Maternity care in “community birth” settings – both such as birth centers and planned home birth – is associated with lower rates of preterm and cesarean birth and higher breastfeeding rates compared to similar people with standard physician-led and hospital-based maternity care. Keep reading to learn why.
Celebrating Black Maternal Health Week 2022
Black Maternal Health Week was created to raise awareness of the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes for Black women and to inspire activism in support of Black-led maternal health initiatives. Founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the goals of Black Maternal Health Week are to: Deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the US…
Unprepared: Reflections of a Labor and Delivery Nurse
As a labor and delivery nurse, I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of untreated substance use disorders (SUD) and mental illnesses in pregnancy and postpartum—as one of the many ways our healthcare system fails to support and care for these moms and babies.
