March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We advocate for women, infants, children, and families across a wide range of issues at the federal, state, and local level. The US remains among the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth, particularly for families of color. We must do more to protect our nation’s moms and babies—passing legislation that prioritizes their health can make all the difference.
March of Dimes mobilizes advocates to March for Change by taking part in advocacy days at capitals across the states, Puerto Rico, and in Washington, DC in March and April. Advocates will urge policymakers to pass legislation that can improve the health of moms and babies and create #BlanketChange.
- Today in the US, an average of two women dies every day from pregnancy and childbirth complications and two babies die every hour. This is a crisis that every family faces, but it doesn’t affect us all equally. Communities of color are disproportionally impacted. Black women are 3x more likely to die than White women, and Black babies are 2x more likely to die before their first birthday than White babies.
- Throughout March and April, March of Dimes advocates will take part in March for Change events, both virtually and in-person, in 13 states and territories to advocate for policy actions that can be taken now to change the course of this crisis.
- Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Wisconsin
- On March 6, advocates will take part in the March for Change Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC where they’ll hold meetings with members of Congress or their staff.
During meetings with elected officials, March of Dimes will seek passage of legislation in three key areas:
- Increase access to quality healthcare
March of Dimes advocates for access to quality, high-value, private health insurance and public health coverage, as well as programs that provide integrated healthcare.
- Support expanded access to midwifery and doula care for women who desire services by further integrating midwives and doulas into maternity care and promoting full practice authority by removing restrictive laws and regulations.
- Increase access to quality telehealth services and technology to providers and pregnant women, especially for women living in maternity care deserts or with other obstacles to receiving care.
- Support healthy women and babies
March of Dimes supports a broad range of policies and programs to promote health, improve health equity, prevent disease, further patient safety, and prevent infant mortality.
- Support efforts to increase access to maternal mental health services through insurance coverage, universal screening, referrals, and treatment
- Workplace policies for families that reduce health disparities through parental leave, paid family leave, and pregnancy accommodations.
- Improve research and surveillance
March of Dimes advocates for innovative medical research and robust health surveillance programs, which are essential to discovering ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat maternal and child health conditions, track occurrence, and promote health equity.
- Advance legislation to enhance and sustain Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), Fetal and Infant Mortality Review committees (FIMRs), and Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs) that work to improve data collection for maternal and infant deaths and make improvements in quality of care and maternal and infant health outcomes.
- Support federal and state legislation to protect newborn screening modernization and ensure every state tests each newborn for all conditions on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP).
- Champion funding for preterm birth research at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Promoting research to help pregnant and breastfeeding women and their healthcare providers know what medications are safe for them and their infants by advancing the recommendations of the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women.
March of Dimes federal efforts will focus on the following key pieces of legislation during their meetings with elected officials:
- Reauthorizing the PREEMIE Act to ensure the continuation of critical research on preterm birth
- Preventing Maternal Deaths Act to reauthorize programs to review and prevent maternal mortality due to childbirth
- Preventing stillbirth through the SHINE for Autumn Act and the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act
- Prioritization of funding for maternal and infant health programs and research, newborn screening programs, vaccination access programs, nutrition programs, and other key areas related to moms and babies
March of Dimes urges everyone to become a maternal and infant health advocate.
- Join us at a March for Change event near you to mobilize #BlanketChange in your community and nationwide. To sign up to join us in-person or virtually on March 12, visit marchofdimes.org/marchforchange.
View our updated event acknowledgements and waivers here.
