Through my continued work with Medicaid and commercial health plans, as well as with hospital NICU teams across the country, I’ve been fortunate to witness a tremendous and ongoing passion for improving maternal and child health and health equity.
Passion alone, however, does not propel us towards the kind of progress women, their children and their families deserve. What is really needed today is a more continuum of care that fully supports mothers and their newborns from conception through the first year of life.
support for this full care is based on decades Global Evidence suggests that a fully integrated care delivery program provides routine monitoring at baseline levels and ongoing opportunities for key interventions, when needed, throughout pregnancy, during the critical months following delivery, and throughout the postpartum period. Colloquially known as the “third trimester,” this major window of healing, recovery, and bonding is critical to the long-term health of both mother and baby.
Sadly, America today Highest maternal mortality rate Maternal health outcomes vary widely across all developed countries, especially when broken down by race and ethnicity. In 2020, CDC Published data shows that my country’s maternal mortality rate has risen again, this time by 14% from 2019 to 2020. For these reasons, expanding maternal care is relevant.
While this year’s numbers continue to paint a very bleak picture, I believe there is still a great opportunity to drive change and improvement in our healthcare system. This opportunity allows us to gain a more complete understanding of maternal and child health.
The new policy is beginning to lay the groundwork for real systemic change, as 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, are now using funds from the American Rescue Program Act to Expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage 60 days to a full year after delivery. Under current plans, this care extension will last for five years, an encouraging step towards more comprehensive maternal and child care. This brings the total number of states with Medicaid expansion to 39. More than 42% of women are on Medicaidwhich guarantees access to vital health care services, including breastfeeding support, chronic disease management, postpartum mental health screenings, home visits, community education measures and other services.
In more than one respect, achieving the complete continuum of care enables us to create better standards for all. Regardless of the approach, we want high-quality outcomes that protect our mothers and the most vulnerable among us, our newborns.By applying a more holistic journey of motherhood, we are able to address the social determinants of health that vary by population, geography and community – estimated to affect 80% of an individual’s overall long-term health. We can tailor outreach to the situation and ensure that all mothers and newborns have a care and community safety net.
Leveraging this framework and context-based, community-based understanding is critical to ensuring that our continuum of care is not designed to be one-size-fits-all. What might work in New York City might not work in rural Louisiana. Factors such as limited public transportation or a lack of trust in the health care system can greatly affect whether new mothers are likely to follow their care plan and attend follow-up appointments. Other proactive outreach methods, appointment reminders, and home care visits can have a greater impact in these areas.
Our actions will have an impact as we start reaching women earlier and provide more — and more relevant — interactions throughout pregnancy and beyond. Driving an integrated, community-based approach to care focused on improving quality outcomes will ultimately help us make progress on maternal and child health indicators. Ultimately, we will begin to see healthier, happier, and more empowered mothers and babies.
Photo: FatCamera, Getty Images
