Statement of Jocelyn Frye, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 22, 2024 – Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation that would strengthen the Health Insurance...
Access, Autonomy and Dignity
The issue briefs in this series explore four important areas of reproductive health, rights, and justice for people with disabilities: access to abortion, access to contraception, healthy sexuality and sex education, and the right to parent.
Improving Our Maternity Care Now
These four models of care share characteristics that distinguish them from the typical maternal care currently available in the United States.
Improving Our Maternity Care Now – Executive Summary
Four care models decisionmakers must implement for healthier moms and babies
Improving Our Maternity Care Now – Recommendations
Congress can play a pivotal role in addressing the maternal health crisis and supporting evidence-based models that improve the health of mothers and infants — particularly in communities that are suffering from deep structural inequities.
Spotlight on Success: The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative
The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative was a federal five-year, multi-site project to test and evaluate enhanced prenatal care interventions for women enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) who were at risk for having a preterm birth. One of the first Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation initiatives, it launched in 2012 to test three models of enhanced prenatal care among Medicaid beneficiaries: birth centers, group prenatal care, and maternity care homes. Midwifery-led care in birth centers generated stellar results, whereas results of the other two care models were underwhelming.
Spotlight on Success: Commonsense Childbirth
Commonsense Childbirth is a midwifery-led practice in Orlando, Fla., that provides a range of clinical and support services to any pregnant person seeking care.
Clean Water and Reproductive Justice
Millions living in the United States face daily exposure to contaminated water sources that present serious risks to reproductive and overall health. And those most at risk are women of color.
Clean Water and Reproductive Justice: Lack of Access Harms Women of Color
Many communities across the country cannot trust the safety of their water and cannot afford to pay more for cleaner water. Frequently, Black, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, lower-income communities, rural communities, and communities living at the intersections of these identities struggle daily to access safe, affordable water, and their health is disproportionately harmed as a result.
Clean Water and Reproductive Justice Policy Solutions
Access to clean water is a human right recognized by the United Nations. It is a public health issue that is deeply connected to maternal and reproductive health.
Lead Poisoning in Flint, Michigan
The water poisoning in Flint caused undeniable harm to residents’ reproductive health. Analyzing health records from 2008 to 2015, researchers found that fertility rates in Flint dropped by 12 percent and fetal deaths rose by 58 percent
Pollution in San Gabriel Valley, California
Over half a million Asian American people and 7,000 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people live in the San Gabriel Valley. This 200 square mile area of Southern California is also home to rampant pollution.
Nitrate Contamination in San Joaquin Valley, California
San Joaquin Valley accounts for over half of California’s agricultural production and, as a result, has the highest rates of drinking water contamination in the state. Nitrates are a serious threat to public health and can cause severe health problems, such as blue baby syndrome and even death.
Emergency Paid Sick Days and Paid Leave for Child Care and Coronavirus
With the coronavirus pandemic affecting nearly everyone in the country, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides many workers new rights to paid sick time and paid family leave to use for certain coronavirus-related health and family caregiving reasons, including for quarantine and child care.
Conoce tus derechos: Permisos pagados por enfermedad y permisos para cuidado infantil durante el coronavirus
La pandemia del coronavirus está afectando a casi todo el paÃs y la Ley de Respuesta al Coronavirus ‘Familias Primero’ (FFCRA) les da a muchos trabajadores el derecho a solicitar permisos pagados por enfermedad y permisos familiares pagados en caso de algunas situaciones sanitarias y familiares asociadas con el coronavirus, incluyendo cuarentenas y cuidado infantil.
Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing
By routinely intervening in labor and delivery in ways that interfere with innate biological processes, the country’s maternity care system is missing opportunities to provide better care and use resources more wisely.
Paid Sick Days Enhance Women’s Abortion Access and Economic Security
Everyone needs time to access health care without risking their economic stability. Paid sick days allow a person to recover from short-term illnesses, access preventive care, undergo a basic medical procedure or care for a sick child or family member. Yet, more than 34 million people working in the private sector don’t have a single paid sick day and, for too many of them, taking time away from work to attend to their health means risking their jobs and financial stability.
Bad Medicine: How a Political Agenda is Undermining Abortion Care and Access in Kansas
Bad Medicine: How a Political Agenda is Undermining Abortion Care and Access, a 2018 Report by the National Partnership for Women & Families, finds that a large majority of states have one or more of these “bad medicine†laws. Kansas is a key offender.
Bad Medicine: How a Political Agenda is Undermining Abortion Care and Access in Oklahoma
Bad Medicine: How a Political Agenda is Undermining Abortion Care and Access, a 2018 Report by the National Partnership for Women & Families, finds that a large majority of states have one or more of these “bad medicine†laws. Oklahoma is a key offender.
Better Together: Policies to Expand Insurance Coverage and Promote Supportive Workplaces Help Families Thrive
A family’s health is inextricably linked to its financial well-being. For many people, being sick, having a chronic condition, or caring for a loved one makes it challenging to remain in the labor force. It is even more challenging when employers fail to provide paid leave and paid sick days making it difficult or impossible for people to take time away from work to get care or treat a serious health issue.
Paid Family and Medical Leave: A Racial Justice Issue — and Opportunity
This issue brief describes health and economic disparities faced by people of color to show that addressing our paid leave crisis is a racial justice issue that requires a carefully designed and implemented federal policy solution.