Fighting for Birth Equity in Maryland: A Conversation with Jennifer Holland

Maternal and child health has been in the news a lot recently, for all the wrong reasons. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is rising, and racial disparities are widening over time. Nationally, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Black women in the U.S. are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their White counterparts. This problem is prevalent in Maryland as well – indicators of maternal and child health, including preterm birth and infant mortality, are poor, with stark racial disparities.

There are plenty of solutions that can make a difference, however. More work needs to be done making those solutions more available to more people in more places – and ensuring we center the voices of those who need to be heard.

“There is a growing appreciation for training doulas and ensuring folks have access to them, but doulas can’t do it all,” said Jennifer Holland, the policy and community engagement director at the Horizon Foundation. “There also needs to be family supports, midwives, OBs, mental health providers, social workers, all of it. We need to change our systems and institutions, strengthen our birth workforce, and center the needs of birthing people and their families to see the outcomes we want to see.”

To that end, the Horizon Foundation is a founding member of a new public-private partnership with other funders and the State of Maryland to advance maternal and child health. Currently, this Birth Equity Funders Collaborative is beginning a learning phase to understand the landscape in Maryland, considering several options for what the state and funders could work on together to achieve better health outcomes and improve the birthing experience for all people.

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Source: The Horizon Foundation