White House Allocates $558M to Address “Maternal Health Crisis”

The U.S. has seen an increase in women dying during and after childbirth in recent years, and currently has the highest maternal death rate compared to every other industrialized nation in the world.

The maternal death rate among pregnant Black women has more than doubled over the past 20 years, and a number of experts have warned that access to healthcare has only worsened for pregnant women since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, as a result of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision.

To address what has been described as a “maternal health crisis” in the U.S., the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it is allocating $558 million in federal funding to help reduce maternal death rates and improve access to healthcare for mothers and infants.

The funding is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis”, which was first established in 2022, as a commitment to reducing maternal deaths in the U.S.

“Today, we are building on this lifesaving work by awarding more than $558 million to improve maternal health across America,” Vice President Kamala Harris stated in a press release announcing the funding. “This includes a critical $440 million to support pregnant women, new mothers, and their children through home visiting programs that will improve health outcomes, child development, and access to resources for years to come.”

Since the Biden-Harris Administration established the program in 2022, federal resources and funds have been used to improve health and safety requirements for maternal emergency care, provide resources to prevent pregnancy-related deaths, expand campaigns focusing on urgent pregnancy warning signs, launch programs to supply infant essentials to families, invest in programs focusing on maternal health, and update other essential programs for pregnant women and infants, the Administration claims.

The new funding will include allocations to support pregnant and new moms, infants and children through voluntary home-visiting programs. Health officials have said the home-visit programs could help improve maternal and child health, as well as child development and school readiness.

Health outcomes for both the mother and child can be improved by early and continued participation in prenatal care and postpartum support, which can include issues such as breastfeeding, safe sleep for babies, learning and communication practices to promote early language development, developmental screening, and connecting to other key services.

Declining Prenatal Care in United States

A recent report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlighted how more women in the U.S. are going through pregnancy without prenatal care now than in years past.

Health experts warn the healthcare gap for pregnant women and new mothers is only worsening following the Dobbs decision, which will likely lead to even higher death rates in future years.

Pregnant women face an urgent health crisis from preeclampsia and other largely preventable complications, since simple measures like regular blood pressure monitoring can not only reduce the risk of death, but also help avoid other serious health side effects.

The new White House maternal healthcare funding will help connect mothers and infants to community leaders, health officials and other support personnel within their communities, according to HHS. This includes expanded access to programs that focus on prenatal care, postpartum care and early infant care. The funding will also help improve school readiness for young children, improve health for women, increase health insurance coverage and prevent child injuries, abuse and neglect.

In addition to the HHS funding, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an investment of $118.5 million across five years to help build and grow the nation’s health infrastructure, which will help identify signs of urgent maternal conditions and prevent maternal deaths.

“Every pregnancy-related death is a tragedy for the family and the community,” Dr. Wanda Barfield, director of CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, stated in the press release. “This investment will support more jurisdictions in their critical work to save mothers’ lives.”