black-maternal-health
Legislators welcome funds for maternal health included in House-approved budget bill
The current iteration of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first state budget includes a first-of-its-kind $2.3 million investment in expanding maternal health programming and implementation of prevention strategies to reduce maternal mortality in Pennsylvania.
Doula nonprofit offers financial assistance for state certification
As state lawmakers in Harrisburg work to combat Pennsylvania’s maternal mortality crisis, an advocacy organization is helping doulas with the cost to obtain a state certification, a move they hope will bring more people into the field and improve maternal health outcomes across the commonwealth.
A ‘very serious conversation’: Pa. House panel hears fixes on maternal mortality crisis
The hearing, led by state Rep. Gina Curry, D-Delaware, who serves as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus, focused on addressing the maternal mortality crisis, which disproportionately affects women and birthing people of color.
Maternal mortality crisis among top concerns for state lawmakers, Shapiro admin
In his first budget address to state lawmakers last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro said that “for the first time” the commonwealth is going to put “real resources” into studying the root causes of Pennsylvania’s high maternal mortality rate, which is three times higher for Black women.
Six Pa. counties classify as ‘maternal health deserts,’ new report says
The report, which uses data from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration found that Cameron, Forest, Greene, Juniata, Sullivan, and Wyoming counties because “there were no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB/GYN and no certified nurse midwives.”
Access to reproductive health care is a fundamental freedom, advocates say in Capitol rally
'The only reason that it is a political issue today is because it's been politicized and weaponized by a small group of ultra-conservatives,' one speaker said.
New advisory group aims to improve pregnancy, postpartum care in Pa. | Five for the Weekend
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the creation of an advisory group to improve pregnancy and postpartum care support across the commonwealth.
In Philly, maternal mortality, health care inequities take center stage at abortion access hearing
The hearing, the second in a series of meetings about reproductive healthcare in Pennsylvania, focused on the impact abortion bans would have on Pennsylvania’s maternal mortality rate and the implications for OB-GYN physicians, as well as how advocates and providers are faring with an influx of out-of-state patients.
Here’s what to know about Black moms’ pandemic struggles and strengths | Opinion
I'm a Black sociologist and a mom. Really listening opened me to this breadth of experience.
Health care providers, state officials tout new initiatives to combat rise in maternal mortality
In Pennsylvania, pregnancy-related deaths grew by more than 21 percent in the five years between 2013 and 2018, officials said.
Addressing healthcare racism against Black women is key to ending U.S. HIV epidemic | Opinion
Although Black women represent only 13% of the female population, they accounted for over half of HIV diagnoses among all females in the U.S. in 2018.
Report: Philly’s Black maternal morbidity rates ‘among the highest in the nation’
According to a new report by Blue Cross/Blue Shield as part of its Health of America Report series, severe maternal morbidity (SMM) rates in Philadelphia are nearly 190 percent higher for Black women compared to white women.