Community Births: A Solution to Maternity Care Deserts

According to the March of Dimes 2024 report, Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the United States, 1,104 counties in the US—approximately 35 percent of the nation’s 3,142 counties—are designated as Maternity Care Deserts. These areas, home to more than 2.3 million birthing people of reproductive age, lack a single birthing facility or obstetric clinician. Nationwide, 1 in 10 birthing people live in a county without full access to essential maternity care services.

Each birth in these counties represents a person or family required to travel outside their community to access prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care. The impact is significant: The March of Dimes analysis found that women living in maternity care deserts receive less prenatal care and experience higher rates of preterm births. Between 2020 and 2022, over 10,000 babies were born prematurely in areas designated as maternity care deserts. A Community Birth Ecosystem, which includes clinical and non-clinical support, and options for birth location, increases access to the critical, person-centered care birthing people need to assure healthy birth outcomes for themselves and their babies.

Join us for a vibrant panel discussion, facilitated by Andrea Palmer, of the Pritzker Children’s Initiative.

Panelists

• Dr. Cristina Alonso Lord, Director of Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood at the MA Department of Public Health
• Indra Lusero, Founder/Executive Director, Elephant Circle
• Ebony Marcelle, Director of Midwifery, Community of Hope, (FQHC)

Language justice services will be available. Please let us know if you need Spanish Interpretation for this webinar. In order to arrange for interpretation, please let us know at least 1 week before the event.

Estas áreas, donde viven más de 2,3 millones de personas en edad reproductiva, carecen de instalaciones para partos o de profesionales de obstetricia. A nivel nacional, 1 de cada 10 personas que dan a luz vive en un condado sin acceso completo a servicios esenciales de atención materna.

Cada nacimiento en estos condados representa a una persona o familia que debe viajar fuera de su comunidad para acceder a atención prenatal, durante el parto y posparto. El impacto es significativo: el análisis de March of Dimes reveló que las mujeres que viven en desiertos de atención materna reciben menos atención prenatal y experimentan tasas más altas de partos prematuros. Entre 2020 y 2022, más de 10.000 bebés nacieron prematuramente en áreas clasificadas como desiertos de atención materna.

Un ecosistema comunitario de atención al parto, que incluye apoyo clínico y no clínico, y opciones para el lugar del parto, aumenta el acceso a la atención esencial y centrada en la persona que necesitan las personas que dan a luz para garantizar resultados de salud positivos para ellas y sus bebés. Únase a nosotros en una dinámica mesa redonda, moderada por Andrea Palmer, de la Iniciativa Infantil Pritzker.

Panelistas

• Dr. Cristina Alonso Lord, Director of Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood at the MA Department of Public Health
• Indra Lusero, Founder/Executive Director, Elephant Circle
• Ebony Marcelle, Director of Midwifery, Community of Hope, (FQHC)

Se ofrecerán servicios de justicia lingüística. Si necesita interpretación al español para este seminario web, por favor, infórmenos con al menos una semana de antelación para que podamos organizarlo.