The Burke Foundation’s Executive Director Atiya Weiss contributed to a new op-ed on NJ.com that shines a spotlight on the maternal mortality crisis affecting the US and addresses specific challenges we face in New Jersey.
Co-authored by Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, Executive Director of Merck for Mothers, and Wendy McWeeny from the Community Health Acceleration Partnership, with additional contributions from Dr. Kimberly Boller of The Nicholson Foundation, the piece highlights some sobering statistics on maternal health:
- American women today are more likely to die in childbirth than their mothers were.
- New Jersey has the fifth-highest maternal mortality rate in the country.
- Black women in New Jersey are four times more likely to die while giving birth than their white counterparts.
The op-ed points out that awareness of this issue has gained ground recently, with increasing numbers of people engaging in a public dialogue about pregnancy-related deaths. While awareness-raising efforts should be applauded, the co-authors believe we must go further to create systemic changes that provide women with greater access to care and a more robust support network during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
In response to this crisis, Merck for Mothers—Merck’s global initiative to end preventable deaths of women from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth—launched its Safer Childbirth Cities initiative, supporting community-based leaders in nine cities across the country to foster local solutions to improve maternal health. In New Jersey, the Burke Foundation has teamed up with the Community Health Acceleration Partnership and The Nicholson Foundation to co-fund the initiative in Camden and Newark.
The op-ed outlines how the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers will use a data-driven approach to identify pregnant and postpartum women who require support and connect them to services that range from emergency room care to support overcoming obstacles such as limited transportation networks or homelessness.
Meanwhile, the Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition will focus on educating health care providers about best maternity care practices, increasing the public’s understanding of perinatal complications and encouraging women to advocate for themselves.
As the co-authors make clear, a key element of the initiative is the multi-city community of practice that the Safer Childbirth Cities grantees will establish. By regularly coming together to discuss approaches and share their learnings, they will build on one-another’s progress to promote health equity and improve maternal outcomes on a national scale.