Momnibus

BE AN ADVOCATE FOR BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR’S MATERNAL HEALTH

In one of the world’s richest nations, moms and babies are facing one of among the highest rates in the developed world for mortality and morbidity —and the rate is worsening. As dire as the overall situation is overall, the crisis is most severe for Black moms in the U.S. who are dying at 3 to 4 times the rate of their White counterparts and other birthing people of color. One in five 5 Black women (20.1%) did not receive adequate prenatal care in 2020 compared to only 1 in 10 White women (9.9%).

Racial differences in birth outcomes persist for infants, too. One in 6 Black babies (16.3%) were born in areas of limited or no access to maternity care, and infants born to Black and Native American moms are 62 percent more likely to be born preterm than those born to White women.

Maternal mortality rates by race and Hispanic origin, United States, 2020

Aggregate 2019-2021 preterm birth rates

The Momnibus builds on existing legislation to comprehensively address every dimension of the maternal health crisis in the U.S. The 117th Congress took the first step by passing the Protecting Moms Who Served Act in 2021. Now, the 118th Congress must work together to pass the remaining legislation.

Specifically, this Momnibus focuses on:

• Making critical investments in social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, and nutrition.
• Providing funding to community-based organizations that are working to improve maternal health outcomes and promote equity.
• Growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce to ensure that every mom in America receives culturally congruent maternity care and support.
• Improving data collection processes and quality measures to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis in the U.S. and inform solutions to address it.
• Supporting moms with maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
• Improving maternal health care and support for incarcerated moms.
• Investing in digital tools like telehealth to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved areas.
• Promoting innovative payment models to incentivize high-quality maternity care and continuity of insurance coverage from pregnancy through labor and delivery and up to 1 year postpartum.
• Investing in federal programs to address the unique risks for and effects of COVID-19 during and after pregnancy and to advance respectful maternity care in future public health emergencies.
• Investing in community-based initiatives to reduce levels of and exposure to climate change-related risks for moms and babies.
• Promoting maternal vaccinations to protect the health and safety of moms and babies.

Become an advocate and call policymakers to prioritize the maternal health of our nation’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) through the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.