February 25, 2021
Contact: ACNM Membership & Communications
240.485.1813; [email protected]
Yesterday, the Senate reintroduced the Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act, critical legislation that seeks to reduce the disparate maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates, especially among Black and Brown birthing people and infants. Spearheaded by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the MOMMA Act would, among other initiatives, establish grant opportunities for entities with proven approaches to improving our nation’s mortality rate by offering better maternal and postpartum health care. Specifically, the MOMMA Act would invest federal funding in the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program, a national partnership of organizations, including ACNM, with goals improving the culture of care to eliminate preventable maternal mortality and severe morbidity across the care continuum.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) strongly supports the MOMMA Act and applauds Senators Durbin and Duckworth for their leadership and commitment to improving the culture of health for pregnant and postpartum people. “All pregnant and birthing people and babies should be served by a maternity care system that delivers safe, equitable, ethical, and patient-centered care, the hallmarks of midwifery,” stated ACNM President, Cathy Collins-Fulea, DNP, CNM, FACNM. “Midwives stand ready to work with policymakers and stakeholders to implement evidence-based solutions, including reducing primary cesarean sections and increasing access to midwives and midwifery-led care models, to help improve maternal health outcomes for all people and communities.”
Every year across the United States, of the 4,000,000 people who give birth, about 700 suffer fatal complications during pregnancy, while giving birth, or during the postpartum period, and 70,000 suffer near-fatal, partum-related complications. These statistics disproportionately impact Black and Brown pregnant and birthing people. Through the implementation of a comprehensive set of policies to improve data collection, dissemination of information on effective interventions, and expansion of access to health care and social services for postpartum people, the MOMMA Act is another piece of critical legislation that if realized, can help address escalating rates of maternal mortality and morbidity disproportionately impacting these communities.
Contact Amy Kohl, ACNM Director, Advocacy & Government Affairs, for more information on the Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act.
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