Maternal health refers to the pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal phases. Maternity care is the top reason Massachusetts residents under 65 are admitted to a hospital, and equity concerns persist around birth experiences and outcomes.
Despite the Commonwealth’s strong overall performance in measures of maternal health, recent data indicate significant, persistent inequities in maternal health outcomes. In particular, HPC research released in October 2024 found that Black non-Hispanic birthing people in the Commonwealth experience severe maternal morbidity (SMM) at 2.5 times higher the rate than White non-Hispanic birthing people.
Maternal Health Access and Birthing Patient Safety Inter-Agency Task Force
In August 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed Chapter 186 of the Acts of 2024. Section 48 establishes a new task force on maternal health access and birthing patient safety in the Commonwealth, to be co-chaired by the Health Policy Commission and the Department of Public Health.
The task force is charged with studying and reporting on maternal health access and birthing patient safety across Massachusetts, including the current availability of maternal health services, financial investment in maternal health care, and the impact of past essential services closures.
Learn more about the Maternal Health Access and Birthing Patient Task Force.
HPC Investments in Maternal Health Care
The HPC invests in programs to address these disproportionate outcomes, expand and diversify the workforce of doulas and midwives, and improve the care and patient experience of Black birthing people specifically.
Launched in 2025, the Hypertensive disorders Equitably Addressed with Remote Technology for Birthing People (HEART-BP) Investment Program aims to address inequities in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy through the use of patient-centered remote blood pressure monitoring (RBPM) technology.
From 2022 to 2024, the Birth Equity and Support through the Inclusion of Doula Expertise (BESIDE) Investment Program aims to address inequities in maternal health care and improve the care and patient experience of Black birthing people by increasing access to and use of doula services.
From 2021 to 2023, the Cost-Effective, Coordinated Care for Caregivers and Substance Exposed Newborns (C4SEN) Investment Program has awarded $1.46 million to support innovative initiatives aimed at improving the quality of care of infants exposed to substances in-utero and their birth parents through at least 12 months postpartum.
From 2017 to 2019, the Mother and Infant-Focused Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Investment Program contributed to the Commonwealth’s nation-leading efforts to address the opioid epidemic by supporting enhanced care and treatment for mothers and infants impacted by opioid use. Nearly $3 million was distributed for interventions designed to improve care for infants with NAS and for women in treatment for opioid use disorder during and after pregnancy.