Reports, Research Briefs, and Scientific Statements

By prioritizing collaborative relationships with community partners, health systems can better understand and be more responsive to community needs. This report, produced by the Center for Health Care Strategies and the Center for Health + Justice Transformation, shares practical approaches to guide health systems in more meaningfully involving community members in decision making and being more accountable to the communities they serve.

This report provides a groundbreaking approach to preeclampsia, one of the most pressing issues in maternal health today, and will translate the prediction of risk into prevention of disease.

In this statement from the American Heart Association, scientists look at the state of maternal cardiovascula health among AI/AN individuals and highlight under-recognized risks and social determinants of health that disproportionally affect AI/AN individuals, including the impact of institutional and structural racism and historical trauma.

This brief offers practical considerations to help health systems and provider practices incorporate a focus on raical equity to enhance trauma-informed care effots. It draws from the experiences of two federally qualified health centers - the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Fmaily Health Services in Philadelphia and Bread for the City in Washington, D.C.

Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth highlights global progress on maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and stillbirths, as well as country efforts to meet the global targets for all three of these critical challenges. Using data from recently published analyses on maternal mortality, stillbirths and neonatal mortality, as well as new data on country progress towards the ENAP-EPMM coverage targets and milestones, this summary report presents the key findings from the data and priority actions. 

This brief, made possible by the California Health Care Foundation, explores the implications of relying on utilization and cost data to identify people with high needs for care management and supportive services. With a focus on CalAIM, California’s initiative to transform Medicaid, it highlights why relying on these data alone may perpetuate inequities, offers considerations for refining eligibility criteria, and shares insights for ensuring that services are provided in a way that is both equitable and impactful.

This report, produced by the Center for Health Care Strategies and the Center for Health + Justice Transformation, shares that state Medicaid programs are increasingly connecting the dots between the medical, behavioral, and social components of health to achieve the goal of more equitable, whole-person care that addresses the health-related social needs (HRSN) of Medicaid enrollees. 

The report, which includes state-specific information and insights, explains the importance of oral health during pregnancy and postpartum as well as the barriers many pregnant people face to accessing oral health care.

This scientific statement summarizes the available preclinical, epidemiological, and clinical trial evidence that supports the contributions of prepregnancy (and interpregnancy) cardiovascular health to risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and cardiovascular disease in birthing individuals and offspring.

This report summarizes and analyzes research that provides evidence that, after one year of the two-year program, the Steps to Success enhancements led to some improvements in outcomes related to healthy birth spacing.

Fact sheets and recommendations from the National Partnership for Women & Families on how to improve maternal and infant health by addressing some of the social influencers of health. This series focuses on Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) who are disproportionately harmed by intimate partner violence. 

The report presents internationally comparable global, regional and country-level estimates and trends for maternal mortality between 2000 and 2020.

20/20 Mom’s overview of screening, including recommendations on the timing of screening and the proper tools to use.

This report, produced by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, explores the role of racism in maternal health.  Produced in 2022, the study in Atlanta sought to understand Black women’s perceptions of the disrespect and abuse they experienced during pregnancy and childbirth.

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

A six-part series on Black maternal health and Birthworkers in the Inland Empire Addressing the issue of maternal mortality in the Inland Empire written by news reporter Brianna Reeves. 

This Opinion from the Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, developed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, provides recommendations on how to understand and decrease inequities. 

This report presents maternal mortality rates for 2020 based on data from the National Vital Statistics System. 

This fact sheet by the National Partnership for Women & Families reviews data on the maternal mortality of American Indian and Alaska Native women in the United States, who are three to four times more likely than white women to die of complications related to pregnancy and/or childbirth. 

This Executive Summary by 20/20 Mom gives an overview of report highlights including risk factors for maternal suicide, race and maternal suicidality, maternal suicide prevention strategies and programs, and the latest on maternal suicide data collection in the U.S.

This report by March of Dimes found that more than 146,000 babies were born in maternity care deserts, more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age live in maternity care deserts, and that 36% of all U.S. counties are designated as maternity care deserts.

This report, produced through a collaboration between the Black Mamas Matter Alliance and A Better Balance, offers a summary of listening sessions held with birthing individuals in nine states around their experiences in the workforce during both the prenatal and postpartum period of their pregnancies. It identifies gaps and offers policy recommendations for accommodations needed.

KidsHealth from Nemours provides and article detailing facts about breastfeeding and formula feeding as well as the challenges associated with each.

Kimberly Seals Allers explains why she’s determined to tackle the racism and bias that evidence shows is inherent in birth and breastfeeding care

A photographer turns the camera on her own pregnancy after documenting high mortality rates for Black expectant mothers.

Pregnant people might hesitate to get vaccinated because there's no data on how it works for them. Medical experts lay out what is known and how each person can weigh the risks and benefits.

The State of Babies Yearbook: 2020 was produced as part of ZERO TO THREE’s Think Babies™, with data and indicator analysis powered by Child Trends. Funding partners for the 2020 Yearbook include the Perigee Fund and the Tikun Olam Foundation. Data provided by this effort are examined in this brief to better understand the inequities that begin before birth for both infants and mothers.

The Public Policy Institute of California published a report in 2015 discussing the Affordable Care Act and its access for undocumented immigrants

The March of Dimes produces annual Report Cards available at the state or county level, which monitors progress on key indicators and proposals for state actions to improve maternal and infant health.

This toolkit has helped lay the groundwork for policy change while highlighting Black mamas’ human right to safe and respectful care.

This report, produced through a collaboration between Ancient Song Doula Services, Village Birth International and Every Mother Counts, outlines the ways in which community-based doula programs in New York State have been strategically implemented to serve families most at risk for poor maternal and infant health outcomes.

This factsheet, produced by the Southern Birth Justice Network and Forward Together, offers facts about Doulas and how they can be beneficial to families going through the birthing process.  The factsheet, produced for Florida, but universally applicable, is available in English and Spanish.

A 2022 report by Mercer looks at the steps that employers can take to help reduce the high maternal mortality rate in the U.S.

This brief by 20/20 Mom presents the available research on the multifaceted relationships between access to different forms of reproductive health care and maternal mental health. The brief also provides a call to action for policymakers, providers, and health insurers. 

This brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies provides a practical guide for states that are designing and implementing doula coverage under Medicaid. It outlines promising practices and lessons from these six Medicaid agencies that have already, or are in the process of, incorporating doula services.

This fact sheet by the Center for Health Care Strategies with support from the California Health Care Foundation, outlines three strategies to guide state agencies and MCOs in helping doulas enroll as Medicaid providers, including: (1) engaging with doulas to inform benefit design and implementation; (2) ensuring appropriate training for doulas; and (3) providing resources and supports to overcome Medicaid participation barriers.

The 2022 March of Dimes Report Card presents the state of maternal and infant health in the United States (U.S.), Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The report card indicates the maternal and infant health crisis is worsening for all families. It continues to examine mom and baby health and the supplemental report presents how states are progressing towards pregnancy and childbirth targets, using the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 objectives. This year, the Report Card also includes a new section to describe March of Dimes organizational programmatic initiatives and advocacy efforts happening in each state to improve the health of moms, babies, and families.

This April 207 Report seeks to summarize California’s gaps in MMH care, identify strategies for improvement, and provide a clear call-to-action and framework for coordinating stakeholder responsibilities.