Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Saving our mothers requires taking more than baby steps 

Janice Phillips, PhD, RN and Gina Lowell, MD, MPH
Policy
April 19, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

During Black Maternal Health Week, the news that Illinois became the first state to extend Medicaid coverage from the former standard of 60 days postpartum to now 12 months postpartum marks a major victory for women of childbearing age, especially women of color.  In Illinois alone, Black women are six times more likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions when compared to their white counterparts. This extended period of coverage is critical for preventing and treating the myriad of conditions that may not manifest themselves early on during any phase of the childbearing experience.   While pregnancy-related deaths could occur anytime during a pregnancy, the majority of pregnancy-related life-threatening conditions and deaths occur one week up until one year post-delivery. Thus, this lifesaving legislation supports early identification, intervention, and access to care in the event a mother experiences precursors of or sudden life-threatening conditions such as hemorrhage, stroke, infection, heart disease, and others.

The United States has the worst rates of maternal mortality in the developed world.  Maternal death rates are double that of countries such as Australia, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, to name a few. Sadly, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 700 women die each year in the USA due to a number of pregnancy or delivery complications. Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white women. In a country known for its excess spending on health care, it is unacceptable that American women and women of color are losing their lives during pregnancy, childbirth, and during the postpartum period.

As health care providers committed to eliminating health disparities, we are heartened that women residing in Illinois will benefit from such lifesaving legislation. However, this sorely needed response to the maternal crisis must be coupled with improved access to safe, equitable, and trusted maternal care. Identifying and addressing the intersections of inequitable systems, maternity care deserts, and support for social needs are critical to ensuring the protection of pregnant and postpartum women and their infants from tragic yet preventable outcomes.

The loss of a mother is a void indescribable – for her infant, her family, and her community. This we know and feel intuitively.  But our society would calculate this in wages lost, and whether that is offset by the costs of prevention and access to care.  We take for granted when mothers survive and then carry on the life’s work of mothering.  We forget to place value on it.  We must feel intuitively and place the just value of gaining a mother – a stabilizing center for her infant, family, and community, a generational value that is propagated long into the future.

From a national perspective, we need federal legislation that will incentivize other states to follow suit like Illinois. While some states are considering similar legislation, there is an urgent need to find solutions to our maternal crisis now.

Having access to essential maternal health care coverage during a very vulnerable time is a human right. Our commitment to saving our mothers and babies should always be the right thing to do. The data are clear that we need to save the lives of mothers now. We must remain vigilant in ensuring that all mothers can benefit from the extended essential maternal health care coverage. Until this gap in maternal care coverage is eliminated, our efforts will be akin to taking baby steps. Important but not enough.

Janice Phillips is a public health advocate. Gina Lowell is a pediatrician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Doctors can't cope with the anguish of COVID-19 casualties

April 19, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

Congratulations on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle

April 19, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Doctors can't cope with the anguish of COVID-19 casualties
Next Post >
Congratulations on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Why the baby formula shortage happened

    Divya Srinivasan and Tejas Sekhar
  • Is this cost-saving Medicare proposal doomed?

    Martha Rosenberg
  • Gun violence requires medical intervention

    Michael Dorritie
  • The economic argument for saving lives

    Yenting Chen, MD
  • Does work-life balance really exist for young mothers pursuing medical careers?

    Sheindel Ifrah
  • The insufferable weight carried by black mothers in America

    Ariana Witkin, MD

More in Policy

  • The lab behind the lens: Equity begins with diagnosis

    Michael Misialek, MD
  • Conflicts of interest are eroding trust in U.S. health agencies

    Martha Rosenberg
  • When America sneezes, the world catches a cold: Trump’s freeze on HIV/AIDS funding

    Koketso Masenya
  • A surgeon’s late-night crisis reveals the cost confusion in health care

    Christine Ward, MD
  • The school cafeteria could save American medicine

    Scarlett Saitta
  • Native communities deserve better: the truth about Pine Ridge health care

    Kaitlin E. Kelly
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care

      Virginia DeFranco, RN | Conditions
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care

      Virginia DeFranco, RN | Conditions
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...