maternal health
Job #1 for the 2023 General Assembly: ending easily preventable deaths
State government has scores of vitally important roles to play in modern North Carolina. The list of agencies and missions is a long one. At a basic level, however, government’s most important task is – or at least ought to be – protecting the lives and health of the state’s residents. And so, while state lawmakers obviously have numerous priorities to weigh and debates to have during the 2023 legislative session that convenes tomorrow, one extremely efficient path for prioritizing their work, fulfilling their most basic duty, and making the state a measurably better place would be this: ending easily preventable deaths.
NC providers, advocates to try again for legislative action to improve maternal health and birth outcomes
State legislators will soon get another look at a plan aimed at improving maternal health in North Carolina, with a request to provide better pay to health care workers who provide maternity services to people enrolled in Medicaid, reimburse for doula services, and increase payments to providers of group prenatal care. The United States has the worst maternal death rate among industrialized nations, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
‘Abortion absolutely is healthcare’: U.S. House panel told as GOP pursues nationwide ban
NC’s Virginia Foxx likens support for abortion rights to policies in China and North Korea A nationwide abortion ban would widen disparities in healthcare and drive up the maternal mortality rate, particularly among Black women, physicians and advocates told a U.S. House panel on Thursday. “Women’s progress has always been inextricably linked with the ability […]
Duke physicians express worry about the new abortion restrictions – and those to come
Duke Health physicians gathered Tuesday in an online round-table discussion of how new abortion restrictions - and those on the horizon - hurt their ability to treat pregnant patients and are likely to lead to more maternal deaths. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion, North Carolina became a destination for women from surrounding states that quickly moved to strictly limit abortion access or impose total bans.
NC single mom pens Mother’s Day plea to GOP legislative leaders
This Mother’s Day, new North Carolina mothers are receiving an unexpected gift thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), the federal relief bill that provides for an additional 10 months of postpartum healthcare for women who give birth. Currently, pregnant women covered by Medicaid get coverage for only 60 days after birth, even though […]
NC legislators aim to reduce Black maternal deaths
Democrats in the NC legislature are sponsoring bills meant to improve Black maternal health that mirror parts of the federal Momnibus Act championed by U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat. The United States has one of the worst records for maternal death in the developed world. Black women in the U.S. are three times […]
NC has one of the worst records in the nation for the deaths of black babies. An expert panel offers some solutions at next week’s Crucial Conversation.
North Carolina has one of the worst records in the nation for the deaths of babies a year or younger, according to new reporting by Lynn Bonner of Raleigh’s News & Observer. The rate of Black babies’ deaths is driving that statistic. Statewide, Bonner reports, the gap between Black and white infant deaths was wider […]
North Carolina needs help to meet strategic health objectives by 2020
The State of North Carolina is not doing enough to promote the health of its people. In 2010, the State of North Carolina identified 13 major health focus areas and established 41 decennial health objectives and targets to meet by the year 2020, with the goal of making North Carolina a healthier state. Unfortunately, our […]
Latest data: NC will not come close to 2020 health objectives; legislature’s policy failures implicated
One of North Carolina’s goals is “to be one of the healthiest states in the nation.” However, the reality is that our state is not on track to reach this goal anytime soon. Every 10 years since 1990, North Carolina has set decennial health objectives with the goal of making North Carolina a healthier state. […]