Merck

Merck for Mothers is Merck’s global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life. In 2023, Merck for Mothers expanded their support of March of Dimes’ Postpartum Support Initiative to elevate and address postpartum wellness through increased access to postpartum guidance, educational resources, and supportive services to help moms thrive in the postpartum period.

Postpartum care and support are essential to preventing and reducing maternal mortality and morbidity and improving the wellness of moms long-term. Yet, postpartum health is universally under resourced and under-valued. Addressing this gap in knowledge, resources, and support is imperative to improving maternal health in the U.S.

March of Dimes launched our Postpartum Support Initiative in 2020 in partnership with Merck for Mothers to address this gap and to meet moms and their needs in a way that works best for them. Since then, March of Dimes has conducted three phases of our initiative with support from Merck for Mothers: background research and needs assessment; curriculum development; and pilot execution and evaluation. In 2023, our partnership enters a fourth phase focused on finalizing and scaling our consumer postpartum digital tools and resources, utilizing them in areas of high need, and achieving wide-scale reach to all postpartum women and those who support them.