Health equity

We're working to ensure all moms, pregnant people, and babies have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.

Unite to fight for the health of all moms and babies

April is National Minority Health Month, a time to build awareness about the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in people from racial and ethnic minority groups.
March of Dimes is Committed to Health Equity

March of Dimes is committed to health equity. Today, there’s a gap between our vision for moms, pregnant people, and babies and the current state of experiences and outcomes for families (especially those who are Black, Native, live in maternity care deserts, or are insured by Medicaid). 

Join us all month long to unite with others to lift up communities for health equity, open the door for every mom to have access to care, and protect the health of families by advocating for their rights.

4/3-4/9: Public Health Week​

4/11-4/17: Black Maternal Health Week​

4/16-4/22: National Volunteer Week​

4/24-4/30: National Infertility Week, World Immunization Week, and National Infant Immunization Week

Supporting the Optimal Health of All People, Babies, and Families

Supporting the optimal health of all people, babies, and families by:

  • Building internal infrastructure and capacity.
  • Influencing systems and institutions.
  • Informing, educating, and partnering.
  • Championing transformative change to reduce health disparities.

Our health equity programs

A national action-oriented coalition of cross-sector partners leading broad changes in policy, research, funding, and systems to address inequities in maternal and infant health.
Our Local Collective Impact Initiatives mobilize cross-sector organizations and community members locally to address the underlying challenges impacting moms and babies and deploy strategies to decrease rates of preterm birth and maternal mortality.
Offering hospitals support to accurately collect patient-reported race and ethnicity data, implement respectful care practices for centering patients in decision-making during the birth experience, and utilize race and ethnicity quality data.
We're dedicated to educating and equipping professionals with tools to mitigate bias, stigma, advance cultural humility, and reduce disparities toward equitable healthcare practice settings.
Research, data, and evaluation are core to our work to advance equity.
Investigating the problems that threaten the health of our babies and look for ways to prevent them.
The March of Dimes Innovation Fund is a venture philanthropy initiative that will use donated funds to invest in early-stage companies to address the most pressing maternal and infant health challenges.
Advocacy is vital to March of Dimes to advance our mission through public policies, programs, and funding.
Work in our local regions align with the national equity framework to reduce disparities and advance equity locally.