Policy & Resources

U.S. Maternal Health & Rights Initiative

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Table of Contents

  1. U.S. maternal health crisis
  2. Initiative priorities
  3. Resources & more

The U.S. continues to face a maternal health crisis, with rates of maternal deaths continuing to rise. The crisis disproportionately impacts Black women, who are nearly three times more likely to die than white women from pregnancy complications. Multiple factors contribute to the disparities that Black women experience, including structural racism, biased and discriminatory treatment from providers, limited access to quality care, and broader inequities in health that can lead to complications during pregnancy. 

The Center’s Maternal Health & Rights Initiative promotes the human rights of pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people in the United States. Harnessing the power of law, policy, and strategic advocacy, the Initiative seeks to improve access to safe and respectful maternal health care for all who need it, and to ensure that all people have an opportunity to attain the highest standard of maternal health possible for themselves.

U.S. maternal health crisis

Crisis in U.S. maternal health

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • In 2023, the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 18.6—the highest among wealthy nations.
  • The rate for Black women was nearly 3.5 times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white women—an increase from 2022, when it was 2.6 times as high.
Initiative priorities

Initiative priorities

The Initiative’s three main priorities are ensuring high quality data collection, fighting for access to safe and respectful comprehensive maternal health care, and addressing racism within and beyond the health care system. 

The Center and its partners advocate for policies including:

  • Extending Medicaid coverage to at least one year after pregnancy ends.
  • State and federal bills that expand access to culturally aligned pregnancy and postpartum care by increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce and removing legal barriers to practice for skilled midwives of all backgrounds.
  • Measures that ensure affordable access to, and fair compensation of, community-based doulas and midwives.

The U.S. Maternal Health & Rights Initiative also provides advocates, lawmakers, and leaders with human rights-based advocacy tools that they can use to catalyze policy change at the local, state and federal level.

Resources & more

Resources and more