{"id":330834,"date":"2025-05-07T10:53:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T15:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=330834"},"modified":"2025-05-07T06:42:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T11:42:32","slug":"programs-states-reduce-maternal-infant-mortality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/programs-states-reduce-maternal-infant-mortality\/","title":{"rendered":"Life-affirming programs in two different states aim to reduce maternal and infant mortality"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two life-affirming programs in different states are attempting to drive down high infant and maternal mortality rates, but with different approaches \u2014 and both <span style=\"color: #000000;\">deserve nationwide recognition and adoption. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PA8Fpt6Llto\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dads to Doulas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in St. Louis, Missouri, aims to drive down high infant and maternal mortality rates (specifically in the Black community), while <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.familyconnectsnj.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family Connects NJ<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> aims to drive down these rates by ensuring that <em>every baby<\/em> born in New Jersey receives a free follow-up home visit from a registered nurse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Dads to Doulas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Innovative program takes aim at high infant and maternal mortality rates in Black community<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black women are three times more likely than their white counterparts to die during the 12 months after giving birth. Similarly, their babies are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/minorityhealth.hhs.gov\/infant-health-and-mortality-and-blackafrican-americans\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more than twice as likely <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as their white peers to die before their first birthday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve covered this tragic reality <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/more-breastfeeding-support-black-moms-babies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/community-based-doula-program-aims-to-reduce-maternal-mortality-rate-amongst-african-americans\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/bill-black-maternal-health-ignores-abortion-mortality\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, particularly emphasizing the role that prenatal and postpartum <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/boston-doula-program-maternal-mortality\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">doula support<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (not increased <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maternal-health-expert-abortion-mortality-america\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">abortion access<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) can play in decreasing disparities by driving down <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/clinic-improve-birth-outcomes-black-mothers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">maternal mortality rates among African-American women<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Born from tragedy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dads to Doulas, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dearfathers.com\/dads-to-doulas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">program <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pioneered in 2024 by Dear Fathers, the \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Premiere Media Platform dedicated to telling stories of black fathers from all angles,\u201d takes an inventive approach to increasing doula access, specifically by giving Black fathers doula-level training. Dads to Doulas is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the brainchild of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfla.com\/daytime\/dads-to-doulas-empowers-black-fathers-to-help-during-birthing-process-and-beyond\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brad Edwards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who tragically<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/lifestyle\/family\/after-my-familys-childbirth-crisis-im-on-a-mission-to-give-black-dads-doula-training\/ar-AA1yC4ih?ocid=BingNewsVerp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lost twin sons<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2017 \u2014 one to stillbirth and the other a week after birth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edwards told the popular pregnancy website <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whattoexpect.com\/family\/dads-to-doulas-brad-edwards\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What to Expect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing your child stillborn is easily the hardest thing you can experience as an expectant parent. There is no way to prepare for this type of loss, but even before things happened the way they did, I felt very unprepared. I had only gone to one prenatal appointment and I was very naive about maternal and infant loss \u2014 the statistics and how rampant these numbers are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He continued, \u201cI didn&#8217;t know I needed to have a higher sense of presence and urgency through that process; I thought my job started once the child got here.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_330913\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-330913\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-330913\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant-700x379.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant-700x379.jpg 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant-500x271.jpg 500w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1390901970-Black-mom-dad-pregnant.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-330913\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stock Photo (Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Involving fathers in the pregnancy and postpartum experience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Dads to Doulas, he explained, \u201cWe help Black men understand the birthing process and where they can get support during pregnancy and infancy. I now know that the work for Black fathers starts well before the baby is born so I&#8217;m teaching more dads about labor and delivery.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The program format includes <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dearfathers.com\/dads-to-doulas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">six once-weekly sessions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, all for free. Men local to the St. Louis area can attend in person and the classes are live-streamed for all other participants. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edwards told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dearfathers.com\/dads-to-doulas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">News Channel 8 <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in Tampa Bay:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We start off with them understanding the history of gynecology and why this has been a historic and systematic situation with black women. They learn everything with the physiological changes with women, with hormones, why things are the way they are in the first trimester vs second trimester. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re learning partner advocacy and, to me, one of the most important times is postpartum\u2026 from preconception to postpartum and everything in between, there\u2019s no stone unturned.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first cohort of 25 participants shared overwhelmingly positive feedback, Edwards reported. \u201cThe more they learn, the more excited they get\u201d to have \u201cnew tools to protect their families.\u201d The organizers plan to expand to locations across the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Family Connects NJ reaches women during pivotal early period after birth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family Connects NJ is another initiative aiming to tackle unacceptably high maternal and infant mortality rates, but from a different angle. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ohj8qRCSE3A\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">interview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for PBS program Think Tank with Steve Adubato, President &amp; CEO of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ Mariekarl Vilceus-Talty explained, \u201cIt\u2019s an evidence-based home visiting program with no eligibility restrictions and it is so important because we know that [during] <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the two weeks after delivery<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we need that support, we need that education, because <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that is when the majority of morbidity and mortality happens<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The time frame of the home visiting program comes blessedly sooner than the standard six week postpartum checkup at the OB\u2019s office. Though even the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acog.org\/clinical\/clinical-guidance\/committee-opinion\/articles\/2018\/05\/optimizing-postpartum-care\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recommended an additional, earlier follow-up at three weeks postpartum, this is not the norm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>No income or other limits for participation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ Chief Nursing Officer Emily Haines made clear the urgent need for intervention in their state particularly, noting:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In New Jersey, we have a maternal mortality and morbidity crisis, especially in black and brown mothers. We know that <\/span><strong>regardless of their income or educational level <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; a black woman with a PhD is still <\/span><strong>seven times more likely <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>to die<\/strong> from childbirth and childbirth-related complications than a white woman. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why a program like this is so critical, because it\u2019s universal. It doesn&#8217;t matter what type of income or level of education you\u2019ve received.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lack of a cutoff for educational status, income level, or geographic location is indeed a defining characteristic of the New Jersey program compared to other initiatives. Furthermore, participation in the program extends to adoptive parents and birth families, foster parents, and to check in on postpartum women who lost a child to stillbirth or as a newborn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_330916\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-330916\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-330916\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum-700x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum-700x380.jpg 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum-768x417.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum-500x272.jpg 500w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1208244895-Black-nurse-postpartum.jpg 1196w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-330916\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stock Photo (Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Prioritizing cultural competence and in-home education<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the home visitor nurses are themselves Black women, and this is intentional, according to Vilceus-Talty. She said, \u201cWe have specialized nurses from different backgrounds to ensure that we have cultural humility\u2026 we speak to you in ways that you can understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing education in the context of the home, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with multiple family members present besides the new mother<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is another intentional, foundational aspect of Family Connects NJ. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vilceus-Talty elaborated, \u201cAnd if there\u2019s a problem [that arises with the newborn or postpartum mom], the entire family is there to assist, to hear what we\u2019re talking about, to be educated and to know when to call the doctor and when to call 911, when to get more information.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The bottom line<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Dads to Doulas and Family Connects NJ seek to address infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States, particularly among the hardest-hit Black community. While these are not anti-abortion initiatives, increased respect and support for new mothers and babies are logical extensions of the care pro-lifers already demonstrate while babies are still in the womb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/actnow.io\/G3Bhv6M\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-325597\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1-700x251.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1-700x251.png 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1-768x275.png 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1-500x179.png 500w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-1.png 1167w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two life-affirming programs in different states are attempting to drive down high infant and maternal mortality rates, but with different approaches \u2014 and both deserve nationwide recognition and adoption. Dads to Doulas in St. Louis, Missouri, aims to drive down high infant and maternal mortality rates (specifically in the Black community), while Family Connects NJ [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":635,"featured_media":330910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Life-affirming programs in two different states aim to reduce maternal and infant mortality<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Though not anti-abortion initiatives, support for new mothers and babies is a logical extension of the care pro-lifers already demonstrate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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