Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Equity Coalition
(Formerly Massachusetts COVID-19 Perinatal Coalition)
Giving Birth in a Pandemic: Policy Recommendations to Improve Maternal Equity During COVID-19
On July 15, the MA COVID-19 Maternal Equity Coalition released “Giving Birth in a Pandemic: Policy Recommendations to Improve Maternal Equity During COVID-19” with six key policy recommendations to ensure equitable, evidence-based, system-level policy reforms are enacted in the protection of birthing people in our state. In summary, the Coalition recommends the Governor and Legislature take immediate action to:
Form a COVID-19 Emergency Maternal Equity Task Force
Collect Data on Pregnant and Birthing People, Race/Ethnicity, and COVID-19
Ensure Consistency in Hospital Perinatal Policies, Including Support People and Mother-Infant Separation
Ensure Immediate Access to Ongoing Mental Health Care for Birthing People
Ensure Ongoing Comprehensive Medicaid Coverage for Birthing People
Expand Midwifery Care and Community Birth Options
Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Health Equity Town Hall
Thank you to the hundreds who joined us on June 3 for an important community conversation about the needs of birthing people during COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
On June 3, 2020, hundreds gathered for a virtual Massachusetts COVID-19 Maternal Health Equity Town Hall hosted by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and state legislators Representative Kay Khan, Representative Liz Miranda and Senator Becca Rausch, and the MA Covid-19 Maternal Equity Coalition (formerly MA Covid-19 Perinatal Coalition) with special guests Senate President Karen Spilka and Senator Joan Lovely. Pregnant and postpartum mothers, midwives, nurses, and researchers shared their powerful stories describing their experiences and challenges for maternal health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In case you missed it, watch the recording below:
Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The current situation for birthing people in the Commonwealth is of the utmost concern. Due to the demands of the current pandemic on the health care system, the rapidly changing landscape of hospital policies, limited personal protective resources for providers and birthing people, and so much that is still unknown about transmission and treatment, the environment for birthing people and birthing people of color in particular has never been more precarious. In a landscape of changing and often inconsistently implemented policies, lack of adequate medical resources, and emergency demand on hospitals, the usual care and best practices for perinatal people is currently in constant flux or unable to be met. For brown and black childbearing people who are facing not only higher levels of infection, illness and death from COVID-19, but who also experience maternal mortality at a rate of 2 - 6 times that of their white counterparts, this is an urgent crisis that demands immediate attention. Additionally, 63% of all maternal deaths are preventable. Leadership is necessary to ensure that best practices and latest research are identified, consistently implemented and disparities eliminated for birthing people in the Commonwealth.