HealthConnect One develops and supports policies that promote equitable support for moms, babies and families during pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting. We do this in several ways:
Policy Development
Our most recent policy reports include:
- Community-Based Doulas and the Medicalization of Birth (March 2020)
- Creating Policy for Equitable Doula Access (October 2019)
Other reports can be found on this website including here.
Supporting initiatives
In addition we take positions on issues of importance to maternal and child health and educate legislators and regulators at the local, state and federal level on issues related to birth equity, maternal mortality, and perinatal health. A list of positions we’ve taken is here.
Advocacy and leadership development
HealthConnect One’s Every Baby Our Baby Network is a movement of CHWs, doulas and lactation specialists, skilled in peer-to-peer learning, who can speak with the voice of experience on the need for these services in marginalized communities.
Advocacy News & Resources
Call your Senator today: Tell them to say YES to funding for home visiting
The U.S. House of Representatives just passed a bill that would provide $3 trillion to help and support our families, communities, and businesses in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a very important provision for home visiting: an additional $100 million in emergency funding that can be used for the care of birthing
Report focuses on midwifery model
Similar to community-based doula programs and policies, midwifery-based models face a lack of understanding and support. Aiming to change that is a May study by Institute for Medicaid Innovation that reports “Hospitals that incorporate midwives have a 74% lower rate of labor induction and a 12% lower rate of cesarean deliveries.” The IMI is
Birthing Families Need Your Support – Stories from Across the U.S.
As COVID-19 strains our healthcare infrastructure, pregnant women are facing severe isolation at a time where familial and community support is critical in birth outcomes. Moms and babies of color, particularly in Black and Indigenous families, are vulnerable to adverse birth outcomes due to generations of disinvestment in the health of communities of color. Now,
Reports highlight community-based doulas’ role vs. maternal health crisis
One new report out of Washington, D.C. highlights that racism is the driving force of disparities in maternal mortality and doulas and midwives are key to the solution. Another from a Native women-led organization in New Mexico analyzes the living-wage pay scale of, and recommends a greater role for, community-based doulas. Taken together, both reports
