Two Say Ahh! blogs published during Black Maternal Health Week this April–one from Marquita Little Numan reflecting on her personal birth story and another by Tanesha Mondestin on the Black Mamas Matter Alliance policy agenda – underscored the need for significant policy change to address the ongoing maternal health crisis facing our country, where Black […]
Introduction Medicaid and CHIP provide coverage for millions of pregnant people to access essential prenatal, birth-related, and postpartum care each year.[1] Policymakers are taking a fresh look at Medicaid and CHIP options to support better maternal health outcomes in response to the nation’s worsening maternal mortality crisis, the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. […]
Today marks the end of Black Maternal Health Week, which is celebrated every year from April 11-17. This initiative was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), which advocates for Black mothers and has goals of changing policy, cultivating research, advancing care, and shifting culture. The week calls attention to the Black maternal health […]
By Marquita Little Numan As we recognize Black Maternal Health Week this year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my personal birth experience as a Black mother. In 2021, as we all adjusted to a new normal and navigated life during a pandemic, my family was thankful for a reason to celebrate. We learned […]
The U.S. continues to experience a worsening maternal mortality crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the maternal mortality rate for all women nearly doubled between 2018 to 2021, climbing from 17.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in 2018 to 32.9 maternal deaths […]
Introduction Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) finance nearly half of all births each year, including a disproportionate share of births to women of color and women living in rural areas. *[1] Medicaid’s foundational role in maternity care financing presents a critical opportunity to leverage the program to respond to the ongoing U.S. […]
