Maternal and Infant Health

While the United States is a high-income country with advanced medical facilities, the state of maternal health in the US is a matter of concern.

Maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are among the highest of all developed countries and have been increasing over the past few decades. There are also significant disparities in access to maternal health care, with women living in rural or low-income areas and women of color experiencing more difficulties in accessing quality prenatal care and skilled birth attendants. Addressing the underlying causes of maternal health disparities and ensuring access to high-quality maternal health care is essential to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the U.S.

For decades NGA works with states to help them improve health outcomes for pregnant women, mothers and children. NGA offers a variety of opportunities for states to collaborate with one another and to work closely with leading experts on a range of maternal and child health issues, such as infant and maternal mortality. The NGA Center also provides targeted technical assistance to states on maternal and child health issues of importance to Governors’ offices as they arise. Finally, NGA has served as a longstanding resource for state-level maternal and child health data on issues such as coverage, eligibility, access and quality through its Maternal and Child Health Update (MCH Update), which has been issued regularly since 1990.

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NGA Resources

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Initiative to Improve Maternal and Infant Health

New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy is leading an effort focused on maternal and infant health (MIH). This has been a significant area of focus in New Jersey throughout the Murphy Administration, and this effort seeks to elevate and expand the conversation around maternal and infant health nationwide.

The four pillars of this effort are:

• Centering Women’s Voices in MIH Policy – This area focuses on the importance of integrating the voices of mothers and women of color in the policymaking process, making sure they have a seat at the table before the table is even built.
• Improving and Utilizing Maternal and Infant Health Data – Improving data systems by incorporating qualitative data on maternal health experiences, linking state data and increasing accessibility to data to improve accountability.
• Expanding Access and Quality of Care – Identifying ways for states to ensure citizens have access to high quality maternal and infant care, including various MIH Medicaid policies that states can look to implement.

• Elevating Innovative MIH Polices, Programs and Technologies – Identify and highlight innovative and novel approaches to MIH policy, including highlighting effective programs and examining the role of technology to improve MIH outcomes.

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Initiative Roundtables

Expanding Access And Quality Of Care

The third roundtable took place in Detroit, Michigan in April of 2023. The roundtable identified the barriers for mothers and families seeking care and surfaced opportunities for states and health systems to mitigate challenges, ensuring better access to high quality care for moms and babies. This discussion brought to light issues related to maternity care quality improvement initiatives in states, work to further grow and diversify the perinatal workforce to create the access to the types of care that families are seeking, and the importance of access to wholistic maternity care that includes mental health, physical health, and the social determinants of health. This is the third in the series of four roundtables occurring over the first half of 2023.

Learn more…

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Improving Maternal and Infant Health was also the subject of panel discussions at NGA’s 2022 Summer Meeting and 2023 Winter Meeting.

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Insights – Youth Mental Health & Maternal and Infant Health

NGA has collated a variety of resources from stakeholders to assist Governors and their staff with strengthening youth mental health, and improving maternal and infant health. These resources leverage the expertise of NGA partners to provide insights to assist with delivering specific program areas and cross-program tools and best practices.

Initiative Supporters

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  Accenture
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  AHIP
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  Amazon
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  Annie E. Casey Foundation
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  BCG
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  Biogen
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  Blue Cross Blue Shield
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  Children’s Hospital Association
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  CVS
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  Deloitte
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  Elevance Health
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  Effective School Solutions
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  Everytown for Gun Safety
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  Funders for Adolescent Science Translation

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  Gilead
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  inseparable
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  Johnson & Johnson
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  Kaiser
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  Kennedy Forum
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  March of Dimes
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  Maximus
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  McKinsey
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  Merck
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  Meta
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  Organon
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  Penner Family Foundation

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  Perigee Fund
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  Pfizer
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  Philips
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  Pritzker Children’s Initiative
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  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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  Sanofi
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  Walmart
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  Western Governors University
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  W.K. Kellogg Foundation