March of Dimes has signed a groundbreaking partnership with the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make the U.S. one of the safest nations in the world for women to give birth, regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, or other factors. Approximately every 12 hours, a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes and 60 percent of these deaths are preventable according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
March of Dimes and HHS recognize the urgent need for widespread improvement in our healthcare system, to close the disparity gap in poor maternal health outcomes between Black and White mothers. Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to White women.
Together, March of Dimes and HHS will work tirelessly to implement evidence-based interventions to improve the quality of the healthcare provided. Through this public-private partnership, March of Dimes and HHS will conduct a data-driven quality improvement program to support hospitals in providing safe, equitable and respectful care.
During this unprecedented pandemic, there’s no time to waste because lives depend on it. This joint partnership is an important start to explore how the U.S. may one day be one of the safest nations in the world to give birth.