Findings from AP report on government programs to combat the maternal mortality crisis in the United States

Throughout the United States, there are programs at all levels of government—federal, state, and local—aimed at reducing maternal mortality and eliminating racial disparities.

Many are making progress in their communities and paving the way for other places.

The Associated Press examined efforts that focus on individual patient needs as well as those that seek to improve health care overall. Here are the key findings.

Accompanying vulnerable women during pregnancy contributes to their health

Healthy Start is a federal program that has worked with vulnerable populations for decades. This year, the federal government awarded $105 million in grants to fund local projects. Officials say it's a key part of the Biden administration's plan to improve maternal health.

It “cares for women throughout their pregnancy,” says Corrina Jackson, who runs a local Healthy Start project in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “We try to reach them in the first trimester and then follow them through to the day of delivery. Then we also work with the babies to make sure they're meeting their milestones.”

Healthy Start programs coordinate prenatal and postnatal care, educate mothers about health and parenting, connect them with help for problems such as depression or domestic violence, and provide assistance with transportation.

Jackson said that in her more than 25 years of practice in Tulsa, there have been no maternal deaths among clients. However, the maternal mortality rate in Oklahoma as a whole is currently higher than the national average.

Better medical care can drastically reduce maternal mortality

California, on the other hand, has the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country at 10.5 per 100,000 live births. This was not the case before a “Cooperative for Quality Maternal Care” was established there in 2006.

Founded at Stanford University School of Medicine, the partnership brings together people from every hospital with a maternity unit to share best practices on problems that can lead to maternal injury or death, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and sepsis.

“If you compare the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. to California, they were basically neck and neck until it was established,” said Dr. Amanda Williams, clinical innovation adviser for the collaborative. “At that point, they completely separated and California started to go down. The rest of the country started to go up.”

Hospitals will receive toolkits describing what to do, how to assemble medical teams and what supplies to keep on hand. The collaboration also aims to improve birth care by bringing in midwives and doulas – whose services are covered by the state's Medicaid program.

Experts: Tailor-made solutions for individual communities work best

New York City has set a goal to reduce overall maternal mortality and to achieve a 10% reduction in Black maternal mortality by 2030. The city's New Family Home Visits initiative targets low-income residents, those living in public housing, and others. The initiative supports pregnant and new parents by offering visits from nurses, midwives, doulas, and lactation consultants.

Jackson's Healthy Start project in Tulsa is also rooted in her community. She and her staff know the lasting impact of the 1921 racial massacre in the city, which killed an estimated 100 to 300 people and destroyed homes, churches, schools and businesses. Jackson said all kinds of health disparities continue to exist, adding that many black women also distrust the health care system, so it's valuable to empathize with them.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Science and Educational Media Group of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. All content is the responsibility of the AP.