Maternal Health

August 31, 2021

Black Maternal Health Crisis Requires Support for Black Health Care Workers

Leandra Lacy, Lauren Fung

Health Equity, Maternal Health, Workforce

A new report from the Urban Institute addresses structural barriers to entering and remaining in the maternity care field.

Start-Up Provides Reproductive Care for Underserved Communities

Health Equity, Investing in Innovation, Maternal Health

Twentyeight Health was built to provide reproductive and sexual health care to women and birthing people of color and those with low incomes. More than half of its users are Medicaid enrollees.

Advancing Midwifery and Birth Equity in California

February 1, 2023

Silvina Martinez

Maternal Health, Health Equity, Workforce

Midwives assist people with low- to moderate-risk pregnancies and are a growing component of the maternity workforce in California.

Birth Equity

Health Equity, Maternal Health

Improving Birth Equity in California’s Health Care System is a quality-improvement initiative designed to improve birth care, experiences, and outcomes for, by, and with Black mothers and birthing people in California.

Nurse Practitioners Can Offer More Abortion Care in Underserved Areas

Workforce, Maternal Health

A conversation with Sarah McNeil, family medicine doctor and family planning specialist focused on expanding health care access.

Nurse Practitioners Can Help Ease Abortion Care ‘Bottleneck’ Caused by High Court Ruling

Anne Sunderland

Workforce, Maternal Health

A conversation with Christine Henneberg — physician, abortion care provider, author, and mother.

In Shadow of Devastating Abortion Ruling, California Will Stand Tall

Sandra R. Hernández

Maternal Health

The state's leadership will be more important than ever.

Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections in California

Maternal Health

CHCF worked with partners statewide to promote higher-value maternity care by reducing the rate of unnecessary c-sections in five years to under 23.9% for low-risk deliveries.

Improving Maternal Mental Health Care

Maternal Health

CHCF is working with partners to develop innovative, practical solutions for delivering mental health care to California's mothers and expectant mothers in need.

Penalizing Abortion Providers Will Have Ripple Effects Across Pregnancy Care

Julia Strasser, Candice Chen, Sara Rosenbaum, Ellen Schenk, Emma Dewhurst

Health Equity, Workforce, Maternal Health

The Supreme Court is moving toward reversing Roe v. Wade and eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion. This could have immeasurable negative effects on pregnant people and families, including the loss of access to necessary treatment associated with miscarriage.

Moving the Needle on Black Birth Equity — a Call to Action

November 30, 2021

Stephanie Teleki, Tenesha Duncan, Kindra Montgomery-Block, Lourdes Rodriguez, Monique Shaw

Maternal Health, Health Equity

The philanthropy community has an urgent responsibility to address the structural factors leading to birth inequities.

Health Affairs Explores Mental Health Link to Birth Outcomes

November 22, 2021

Heather Tirado Gilligan

Health Equity, Maternal Health

Stories That Caught Our Attention: The health policy journal Health Affairs published a special issue featuring important perinatal mental health data and analysis.

Educating Perinatal Providers on Implicit Bias and Reproductive Justice

Maternal Health, Health Equity

California Senate Bill 464 aims to reduce pregnancy-related preventable deaths, severe illnesses, and associated health disparities. To help perinatal care providers comply with the law, CHCF supported the development of a free e-learning course that explicitly addresses the requirements of SB 464.

Spreading the Stories of Joyful Black Births

Xenia Shih Bion

Health Equity, Maternal Health

Kimberly Seals Allers talks about her new podcast aimed at debunking negative media narratives about Black childbirth.

Challenging Providers to Look Within Themselves

Stephanie Teleki

Maternal Health, Health Equity

A new California law aims to reduce maternal deaths by requiring perinatal providers to undergo implicit bias training. CHCF supported development of a free e-learning course with tools to help maternity care providers reshape their care.