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Black maternal health has been a problem in CT and the region. Some groups are working to improve that
Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, CT Insider, Nov. 28
When Ashley, a Hartford County mom, first found out she was pregnant she wasn’t sure who to turn to. Aware of maternal health disparities for Black women, she was looking for resources, education, and overall encouragement. A friend recommended Lucinda’s House, a nonprofit that addresses maternal mortality among Black women. “I needed someone that would talk to me as a human and not just as a statistic,” Ashley said. Lucinda Canty, founder of Lucinda’s House, said that she helps around 150 women a year in many different ways depending on their needs. That involves one-on-one consultations, education programs, and connecting women to resources such as doulas.
Doulas test ways to curb Memphis’ Black maternal, infant deaths
Katti Gray, MLK50, Dec. 3
Starting in 1948, Bernice Bowens delivered six healthy babies at home, with the help of a Black midwife, feeling supported by her community. Decades later in 2006, her granddaughter Shanille had a much different experience. Shanille described being shuttled through a Memphis hospital’s emergency room by doctors and nurses who were dispassionate. Her son was stillborn and her daughter died shortly after birth, in one of Tennessee’s top counties for deaths among children less than a year old. Today, she is the founder of Memphis’ first doula support center, and was recently chosen as the community liaison for a pilot project gauging what happens when people covered by Medicaid get a doula. It is one of several efforts happening in the state to curb maternal and infant deaths.
Most rural hospitals have closed their maternity wards, study finds
Sarah Kliff, The New York Times, Dec. 4
More than 500 hospitals in the United States have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010, leaving most rural hospitals and more than a third of urban hospitals without obstetric care. A new study found that even though new units have opened in about 130 hospitals nationwide, the share of hospitals without maternity wards has increased every year. “We’re more than a decade into a severe maternal mortality crisis in the United States, and access to hospital-based maternity care has continued to decline over that entire time period,” said Katy Kozhimannil, the study’s lead author. She said her other research has found that the closures of rural maternity wards can lead to an increase in births in emergency rooms or outside of hospitals.
9 states poised to end coverage for millions if Trump cuts Medicaid funding
Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News, Dec. 4
More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage if lawmakers reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility. The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion could be cut with Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025. They argue the program costs too much and covers too many people, while supporters of the ACA say Medicaid expansion has saved lives and helped communities by widening coverage to people who could not afford private insurance.
Libraries are offering free health and wellness classes across the US
Devi Shastri, The Associated Press, Nov. 29
From small rural town libraries to large urban systems, libraries across the United States are offering free health programs. They include fitness classes, food pantries, conversations about mental health and more. The programs are free, don’t require insurance or ID, and are available to people of all ages. They aim to leverage libraries’ reputation as sources of reliable information and their ability to reach people beyond formal health care settings. In some areas where there are no public health offices, the libraries serve as one of the few places where people can be connected to resources.