COMING SOON: Fourth National Listening to Mothers Survey Results
Listening to Mothers IV is a nationwide initiative to hear from birthing women and people directly about being pregnant, giving birth, and supporting themselves and their babies postpartum. As the maternal health crisis continues, we need better data on maternal health inequities to support more effective solutions. We are thrilled to partner with Black Mamas Matter Alliance and MomsRising in this effort.
Thanks to the generous support of a group of national funders, Listening to Mothers IV is underway! The second of two questionnaires is currently in the field, and we will share results in 2025. A rich combined data set will be freely available to interested researchers for secondary analyses at the end of the project. More information will be available in the coming months. Sign up for updates.
About the Survey
- Nationwide survey of several thousand people who gave birth in 2023.
- 30-minute questionnaire, followed by another 45-minute questionnaire.
- Oversampling of Indigenous and Asian childbearing people for the first time, in addition to capturing Black and Latine experiences.
- Survey conducted in English or Spanish, on any device, or by a trained interviewer.
- Topics and questions developed in collaboration with a community-centered Listening to Mothers Advisory Council, and span the prenatal, birthing, postpartum, and infant periods. Topics include:
- Care team and prenatal through postpartum services
- Respectful / disrespectful care
- Maternal mental health
- Availability and use of parental leave and other workplace benefits
- Impact of COVID
- Unmet social needs
- Extensive dissemination of findings and top priorities in partnership with key national and community-based organizations.
- California-specific analyses and reporting, in addition to national results.
About the Partners & Advisors
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Listening to Mothers Advisory Council (LTMAC)
- Nicolle L. Arthun, BSN, RN, MSN, CNM, FACNM, CEO, Transcending Strategies LLC; Founder, Changing Woman Initiative
- Micaela Lara Cadena, Health Policy Researcher and Advocate
- Nicole Deggins, CNM, MSN, MPH, Founder and CVO, Sista Midwife Production
- Erin Gildner, MPA, Director, Chapter Relations, United Spinal Association
- Whitney Hunter-Batteast, Founder & CEO, Pickles & Popsicles
- Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM, Founder and President of Commonsense Childbirth Inc.
- Lety Knight, CPM, Borderland Midwife
- Mashariki Kudumu, MPH Kudumu Partnerships for Equity and Justice, Founder and Principal Consultant
- Frankie Robertson, MPA, Founder and President of The Amandla Group, Founder and Doula, Black Joy
- Wengora Thompson, MPH, DrPH
- Sophia Tupuola, Mama, Warrior, Community Expert
Boston University School of Public Health Team
- Eugene R. Declercq, PhD, MBA
Professor, Boston University School of Public Health, investigator on all previous Listening to Mothers survey - Collette N. Ncube, DrPH MPH, MS
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology
Boston University School of Public Health - Ruby Barnard-Mayers, MPH
Epidemiology Doctoral Candidate
Boston University School of Public Health
Market Decisions Research
Funders
