Local and federal health leaders gathered Thursday to talk about ways to give new moms in D.C. and their babies a better start.
The roundtable at the Community of Hope’s Conway Health and Resource Center in Southwest D.C. marked a yearlong nationwide “Enhancing Maternal Health” initiative tour by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The focus was on making sure pregnant women and their families know what resources are available to support new moms in the crucial months after a baby is born. And that’s key for new parents in D.C., where data shows Black mothers’ maternal mortality rate is three times higher than that of white mothers.
“A lot of maternal mortality actually happens in that year postpartum,” said Carole Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the HHS agency spearheading the effort.
She said the key is getting prenatal, birthing and postpartum resources to as many families as possible.
In terms of getting support in place for moms and their little ones, Community of Hope CEO and President Kelly Sweeney McShane said they’re starting to make inroads.
“We are seeing great outcomes in terms of improving the number of babies who are born at full term and at healthy birth weights, and really making sure that women are coming back for their postpartum care,” she said.
One support in place at Community of Hope is a midwife program that can help bring prenatal, birthing and postnatal care right into the home.
“Midwives provide full prenatal care, postpartum care, we also do GYN, newborn care,” said Dr. Ebony Marcelle, midwifery director at Community of Hope. “A lot of people don’t realize that we take care of babies for the first 28 days of life. We are the specialists of not-of-hospital birth. Some of us practice delivering at home or birthing centers, but the majority of certified nurse midwifes in this country actually practice catching babies in the hospital.”
Johnson said the initiative is needed, because infant and maternal mortality is a real-world issue, and that’s why President Joe Biden’s administration tried to get more resources to more moms to help them and their babies.
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