Advancing Maternal and Child Health in 2024
This year has flown by, and we cannot believe we are already reflecting on all of the great things our Maternal and Child Health Division (MCH) has accomplished in 2024!
Throughout the year, we continued our policy- and advocacy-based work alongside our partners in the MAMA+ Health Policy Agenda. The 2024 legislative session was tough, but we successfully passed four bills aimed at improving the maternal health landscape in Louisiana.
Senate Bill 55 (now Act 122) requires that all hospitals and birthing centers providing labor and delivery services provide birthing people and their families information about postpartum warning signs and resources.
Senate Bill 148 (now Act 301) increases insurance access to postpartum depression medication.
Senate Bill 190 (now Act 306) develops an incremental blueprint for increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 89 requests the Louisiana Department of Health to develop a plan for decreasing regulatory barriers for free-standing birth centers.
All of these bills aim to improve the care provided to birthing people in Louisiana and to expand access to maternal health services. That said, although we are making great strides to improve the maternal health landscape, there is still more work to do and we’re already preparing for 2025.
In addition to the MAMA+ Health Policy Agenda achievements, we proudly participated in hosting Black Maternal Health Advocacy Day. This annual event coincides with Black Maternal Health Week, and we encourage you to join us next year! If you missed our recap, you can check it out here.
This year we also launched the “You Deserve a Doula,” a phase of our This Is Why campaign, which is aimed at reducing equity gaps within health care systems that negatively impact Black folk and improve Black health outcomes in the US. You Deserve a Doula was designed to raise awareness about doulas and the services they provide, inequities in Black maternal health, and maternal health policy, and it is available on a dedicated website and Instagram. On social media we shared information, resources; and campaign updates; promoted advocacy opportunities; and engaged in meaningful conversations with Nicole Deggins of SistaMidwife Productions and Frankie Robertson of The Amandla Group. We also put up billboards all around town with quotes from doulas, birthing people, and OB/GYN Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, and we even launched a podcast called “Should I Get A Doula?” where our very own Sr. Director of Media & Communications, Iman Shervington, speaks to five special guests to decide whether or not a doula is right for her. We’re so proud of this campaign, and it was an honor to be able to uplift the voices of our community!
As we approach 2025, we are keenly aware of the potential MCH challenges on the horizon, which makes our team even more aware of the importance of this work. One of our major objectives will be to expand the work of the MCH Coalition statewide, and we are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant through the Packard Foundation to support this endeavor. The Coalition consists of more than 200 members and it was formed to “improve outcomes, experiences, and access to quality respective care during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period by centering the experiences of Black birthing people and their infants in New Orleans.” Expanding this work statewide is necessary to address the alarming maternal health disparities that Louisiana faces.
Reflecting on the past year and all of our work, a major theme that stands out is collaboration, so we just want to end by saying that we are grateful for all of the wonderful partners we have in the maternal and child health realm because this work is challenging and we need all hands on deck; it is vital, and no single organization can tackle it alone.