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Dear March for Moms Supporter,
As our community celebrates Black Maternal Health Week 2020 and centers the needs of Black mamas, I continue to be heartened by the strength and resilience of the maternal health community during this public health crisis. We know our health care system is more fragile than ever and that there continues to be a clear and urgent need for our work to ensure the strongest possible policies are in place to support the health and well-being of moms, particularly moms of color. And so we’re continuing to be strong advocates during these uncertain times.
We hope that you can join us to continue to make our voices heard and advocate for moms and families the entire week leading to Mother's Day - kicking off with our virtual Community Town Hall on Monday, May 4 at 1:00 p.m ET. We'll feature leading advocates, providers, and policymakers and have time for community discussion about the pressing needs of moms and birthing people in light of COVID-19. Please register [[link removed]] today!
We'll also be sharing uplifting video and advocacy messages throughout the week on social media - share your stories and videos that highlight the problems, your experience, and/or the solutions needed to improve care. Be sure to wear orange to show your support for maternal health and tag us @marchformoms!
As part of this effort, March for Moms and Every Mother Count [[link removed]] have developed a campaign [[link removed]] asking Congress to take action to uplift the needs of mothers and birthing people during the COVID-19 crisis through specific policy action. Please considering signing and share today!
Together we call for:
1) Ensuring that women do not lose their health coverage too soon after giving birth by permanently extending pregnancy-related Medicaid to cover new moms for 1 year postpartum,
2)Making safe, virtual care available to families for prenatal and postpartum health care, including mental health,
3) Improving access to midwifery care and community birth options, and
4) Expanding access to community-based doulas, peer childbirth educators, and peer counselors to provide essential emotional and informational support to families during this time of crisis.
Just last week we also joined with Every Mother Counts and Families USA [[link removed]] to respond to the Senate Finance Committee’s request for information (RFI) on how Medicaid can help address our nation’s exacerbated maternal health crisis. Together we submitted comments in support of extending Medicaid postpartum to at least 12 months after giving birth; expanding access to non-clinicians in maternal care including doulas and perinatal community health workers; and reimbursement parity for midwives under Medicaid for maternal health services. You can view a full set of our comments here [[link removed]].
Finally, at this moment, I am particularly thankful for this community, especially those of you on the front lines caring for moms and babies. I am inspired by you and your unwavering commitment to your profession. You are courageous and we are forever grateful.
Katie
Founding Executive Director, March for Moms
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