Maternal Health Organizations Applaud Governor Healey’s Report & Recommendations to Increase Access to Maternal Healthcare

November 21, 2023

Maternal Health Organizations Applaud Governor Healey’s Report & Recommendations to Increase Access to Maternal Healthcare

American College of Nurse Midwives-MA, Bay State Birth Coalition, and Neighborhood Birth Center Thank Administration For Their Leadership & Urge Quick Implementation of Recommendations

BOSTON, MA: Maternal health practitioners and reproductive rights supporters applaud Governor Healey’s release this week of reports and recommendations regarding the state of maternal health care and essential services in the Commonwealth. The recommendations laid out in the report, if implemented fully, would result in a marked increase in access to maternal health care across Massachusetts. We particularly thank the Administration for prioritizing the following critical recommendations: (1) Updated regulations governing birth centers to better align with national standards; (2) Equitable reimbursement for Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs); and (3) Support for integration of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) into more pregnancy and birth care settings and coverage for such care in Massachusetts.

The recommendations within the Governor’s report would take critical steps forward in addressing the alarming increase in life-threatening pregnancy complications and racial inequities in the Commonwealth, and the continued decline in birthing options statewide. According to the report, data show that the severe maternal morbidity rate for all birthing people doubled between 2011 and 2020. Severe maternal morbidity occurred twice as frequently for Black birthing people in 2011, and that gap increased by 25% in that same 10 years. Compounding the crisis, Massachusetts communities have experienced closures of four hospital maternity units and two birth centers since 2020, accelerating a decade-long trend. 

The Healey-Driscoll report recommendations are directly in line with the previous recommendations laid out by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission and the Commission on Racial Inequities in Maternal Health to increase access to midwifery-led models of care and birth centers. 

Nashira Baril, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Birth Center, a Black-led nonprofit working to open Boston’s first freestanding birth center said, “I couldn’t be more proud of Neighborhood Birth Center or the vision we put forward for culturally reverent reproductive care and liberatory birth experiences for all families in and around Greater Boston. We cannot recover all the time wasted navigating policy and regulatory barriers that are not evidence-based, but my highest hope is that Massachusetts implements these recommendations and DPH changes the birth center regulations in a timely manner so it can positively shape our trajectory to open and thrive.”

There are many individuals who have played crucial roles in lifting up the need for these public policies and increasing awareness of Massachusetts’ maternal healthcare inequities. Importantly, birthing people and their families shared their experiences with and wishes for maternal health care in Massachusetts at the recent listening sessions that informed the development of the Healey Administration recommendations, as well as at other public hearings, forums and listening sessions held over the past few years. 

“It can’t be overstated that these recommendations are born from listening to individuals, family members and communities that have been impacted by maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity”, said Susan Hernandez, a Certified Nurse Midwife and a Commissioner on the Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission. “The people of the Commonwealth came forward to share their hopes for more equitable reproductive access, including midwifery care, and it is now time for state leaders to move forward with enacting policies that will ensure the care these communities deserve”. 

We would specifically like to note that these recommendations would advance a suite of policies which have been championed over the years by legislative leaders in the House and the Senate, including: Senator Jo Comerford, Senator Becca Rausch, Senator Liz Miranda, Senator Brendan Crighton Representative Marjorie Decker, Representative Kay Khan, Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley, Representative Chynah Tyler, Representative Manny Cruz, among others.

We remain incredibly grateful to the leadership of Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, Undersecretary for Health Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robert Goldstein, and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Hafsatou Diop. 

“Midwives are true change agents and provide essential care services that could mean the difference between life and death for birthing people,” said Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and founder of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice. She continued, “Midwives need to be fully incorporated into the maternity care system, and I applaud the steps the Healey-Driscoll administration has committed to taking. By addressing long-standing regulatory and reimbursement barriers, we’ll see the tides change and avert maternal deaths in a meaningful way, for the first time in decades.”

“We are thrilled to see the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s recognition of the critical role of midwives in addressing poor maternal health outcomes, health equity, and access to care,” said Emily Anesta, President of Bay State Birth Coalition. “Massachusetts has fallen behind when it comes to integrating midwives and giving birthing people a choice about the model of care they receive and where they give birth, but putting these recommendations into action will meaningfully improve the maternal health care landscape.”

Massachusetts has long led the nation in our healthcare systems, care and access. We believe that these recommendations will ensure that our maternal healthcare system holds its rightful place as a leader among others, and look forward to the swift implementation of the recommendations contained within the report.