Overview: California has the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, but the state can do more to eliminate the disparate rate at which Black mothers and mothers of color are dying. The California Maternal Health Blueprint, released by California Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, aims to reduce the state’s maternal mortality rate in half by 2026. The blueprint emphasizes education and empowering individuals about their reproductive health as critical goals in reducing maternal mortality rates. The campaign includes utilizing the resources that California already has and including community voices.Breanna Reeves
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California has the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, but according to California Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos, the state can do more to eliminate the disparate rate at which Black mothers and mothers of color are dying.In an effort to achieve the goal of cutting the state’s maternal mortality rate in half by 2026, Dr. Ramos and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom released the California Maternal Health Blueprint, a manual of recommendations on how California can achieve this goal. The blueprint emphasizes education and empowering individuals to learn more about their reproductive health as critical goals in reducing maternal mortality rates.“We are setting critical goals to improve maternal health outcomes and creating a robust support network for mothers, from preconception through postpartum care, addressing the diverse needs of our population and setting an example for the nation,” said Newsom in a statement.The blueprint is part of a larger effort called Strong Start & Beyond, a movement to reduce California’s maternal mortality rate 50%, by December 2026. One of the key strategies that will be applied in this campaign is utilizing the resources that California already has and including community voices. “We are developing a short questionnaire that people can complete before they become pregnant, and that questionnaire is going to give them information based upon your medical condition,” Dr. Ramos explained. “Now, if you were to become pregnant, you potentially could be a high risk pregnancy or maybe moderate or average risk.”Dr. Ramos described the questionnaire as being similar to completing a Cosmo magazine quiz like “Is my relationship going to work out?” Based on the answers chosen, the magazine would deliver a response or recommendations on what to do.In a similar fashion, Dr. Ramos explained that answering these pregnancy-related questions will encourage individuals to begin thinking about what people can do regarding their health in the event they become pregnant, and also consider what they can expect.“The hope is, when they do choose to become pregnant, they will have a healthier pregnancy, safer pregnancy and we can help eliminate some of those unnecessary and preventable maternal deaths,” Dr. Ramos shared. “So that’s one piece, and the other big, important piece is to elevate the resources that are already available in California.”Last year, Medi-Cal began to cover doula services for beneficiaries to improve health outcomes for birthing parents and infants. Doulas are nonmedical professionals who offer birthing people and their families mental, emotional and spiritual support before, during and after their pregnancy. Across the Inland Empire, community-centered doulas organizations provide services to Medi-cal and non-Medi-Cal recipients in need of support such as Jurupa Valley Doulas, bilingual doulas based in Riverside County, and the Sankofa Birthworkers Collective of the Inland Empire, where families can apply for cost-free doula services. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) extended the postpartum period from 60 days to 365 days, effective April 1, 2022. Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal Access Program (MCAP) recipients are eligible for pregnancy and postpartum care services throughout their pregnancy and one year after giving birth. Coverage includes the “full breadth of medically necessary services during both the pregnancy and for 365 days postpartum regardless of immigration status or how the pregnancy ends (for example live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage or termination).”Promotores have also been an important resource to support Spanish-speaking communities with navigating the healthcare system. Promotores, translated as “community health worker,” provide culturally competent health education and services. In the Inland Empire, El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center offers individual programs for families which includes early maternal infant and early childhood educational support.“California has done amazing work in having the lowest maternal mortality rate because we are the ones that have developed the toolkits for postpartum hemorrhage, for infection, for sepsis, hospital protocols, and that’s what’s helped us get to that lowest rate in the country,” Dr. Ramos said. “We could do better by now adding the voices of the community and the patients.”The California Maternal Health Blueprint was developed in part by a Perinatal Advisory Group and maternal health partners including Dr. Bryan Oshiro, maternal fetal medicine physician at Riverside University Health, and Dr. Amanda Williams, clinical innovation advisor at the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Medicine.“If we can have the lowest maternal mortality rate, we can do even more in eliminating the disparities and, more importantly, helping prevent the over 80% of preventable maternal deaths that are happening,” Dr. Ramos said.As this movement kicks off, Dr. Ramos explained that they will continue to monitor progress being made through an ongoing review initiative that is done by the California Department of Public Health’s Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Program, which publishes several online data dashboards, and the CMQCC. Gov. Gavin Newsom also proclaimed September 17, 2024, as “Strong Start & Beyond Day,” in an effort to “advance the commitment” to reproductive and maternal health.
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Source: Black Voice News
