Black Maternal Health Week 2025
Read our recent post on the P4A Spark Blog:
The Solutions to America’s Maternal Health Crisis Are Clear. Will We Act?
Nona Mitchell Richardson
At a time when policymakers are debating the future of Medicaid, it’s critical to remember what’s at stake. Medicaid is not just a budget line—it is a lifeline for maternal health, particularly for Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities. Proposed cuts to Medicaid could jeopardize the very solutions that are proven to save lives and advance maternal health equity.
The maternal health crisis in the United States remains one of the most urgent, public health challenges of our time. America continues to rank at the bottom among the world’s industrialized nations in maternal health outcomes. One of the wealthiest countries in the world should be capable of delivering thriving babies to well-supported mothers.
The annual recognition of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17th) was created to draw attention to the alarming disparities in outcomes for black women in particular. The research is disturbing.
Watch the recording of our recent event:
The Urban Institute, in collaboration with Policies for Action (P4A), a signature research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, hosted this robust, solutions-based discussion. Together with researchers, policymakers, advocates, and health care providers, P4A moderators explored evidence, experience, and policy considerations to achieve maternal and infant health equity. The ultimate collective goal is to create a future in which reproductive health equity is a reality for families throughout the United States.
Click below to watch the recording and find other helpful materials.
Learn from Urban and Policies for Action research:
The following research and references were used to produce the materials shared on the BMHW25 page. This list is not exhaustive of all of the available information on this topic. We encourage researchers and others who are interested to expand their knowledge beyond this limited list, and to continue to add research to this important topic.
Sources:
Courtot, B., Artiga, S., & Gates, A. (2020). Midwifery and Birth Centers Under State Medicaid Programs: Current Limits to Beneficiary Access to a High-Value Model of Care. Milbank Quarterly, 98(4), 1091-1113.
Dubay, L., Hill, I., & Garrett, B. et.al. (2020). Improving Birth Outcomes And Lowering Costs For Women On Medicaid: Impacts Of ‘Strong Start For Mothers And Newborns.’ Health Affairs, 39(6), 1042-1050.
Eliason, E. L. (2020). Adoption of Medicaid Expansion is Associated with Lower Maternal Mortality. Women’s Health Issues, 30(3), 147–152.
Gangopadhyaya, A., Dubay, L., Johnston, E., & Pancini, V. (2024). How structural racism, neighborhood deprivation, and maternal characteristics contribute to inequities in birth outcomes. Health Affairs Scholar, 2(8).
Harrison, E., Mitchell, F., Lacy, L. Taylor, K., & Fung, L. (2023) Understanding training and workforce pathways to develop and retain Black maternal health clinicians in California. Urban Institute.
Johnston, E. M., McMorrow, S., Caraveo, C. & Dubay, L. (2021). Post-ACA, More Than One-Third of Women With Prenatal Medicaid Remained Uninsured Before or After Pregnancy. Health Affairs, 40(4), 571-578.
Karbeah, J., Hardeman, R., Katz, N., Orionzi, D., Kozhimannil KB. (2022) From a Place of Love: The Experiences of Birthing in a Black-Owned Culturally-Centered Community Birth Center. Journal of Health Disparities, Research and Practice, 15(2):47-60.
Mitchell, F. (2023). Five Strategies for Building and Sustaining the Black Nursing Workforce. Urban Wire blog.
Myerson, R., Crawford, S., Wherry, L. R., & Kenney, G. M. (2020). Medicaid Expansion Increased Preconception Health Counseling, Folic Acid Intake, and Postpartum Contraception. Health Affairs, 39(11), 1883–1890.
Steenland, M. & Wherry, L. (2023). Medicaid Expansion Led to Reductions In Postpartum Hospitalizations. Health Affairs, 42(1), 18-25.