HHS launching tour for maternal health

HHS launching tour for maternal health | Image Credit: © monticellllo
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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching its Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers (MOMS) Tour in Detroit, Michigan, on August 12, 2023.

Metal health has been an ongoing priority of the Biden-Harris Administration. The HHS has encouraged pregnant women, new moms, and families to participate in the tour and receive educational information and health care services such as mental health services, health care coverage, and local support services.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, with the risk of death during childbirth 2.3 times more likely in Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women than non-Hispanic White women. In a blueprint calling for action against the mental health crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration encouraged continuous, comprehensive maternal health insurance coverage throughout pregnancy.

Medicaid covers about 42% of births, but postpartum coverage is often lost 60 days after delivery. The HHS extended Medicaid postpartum benefits to 12 months during the Biden-Harris Administration, and 35 states have begun efforts to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity rates and address disparities in maternal health.

In the 2024 fiscal budget from the Administration, over $471 million is dedicated to implementing strategies reducing maternal morbidity and mortality, expanding maternal health care in rural communities, implementing implicit bias training for health care providers, addressing perinatal health disparities, and creating pregnancy medical home demonstration projects.

The budget will also support the maternal mental health hotline and screening and treatment for maternal depression, as mental health conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth. Collection and evaluation of sociodemographic data will also be improved by the budget.

The MOMS Tour was developed with the goal of improving maternal health outcomes, focusing on outcomes in marginalized populations which experience high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. Other locations the Tour will visit include Houston, Texas; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Albuquerque, New Mexico;Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Mental health professionals, medical professionals, birth workers, and community workers will come together for the Tour, creating valuable discussions on maternal health disparities. These individuals will also design ways of supporting women at increased risk of adverse outcomes.

Reference

HHS launches the M.O.M.S Tour (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) in Detroit in support of improving maternal health outcomes in our nation. US Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed August 10, 2023.