New task force co-chaired by the Health Policy Commission and Department of Public Health begins critical work to assess and provide policy recommendations for maternal health care in Massachusetts
BOSTON — Wednesday, April 2, 2025 — The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC), in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), convened the inaugural meeting of the new Maternal Health Access and Birthing Patient Safety Task Force, established pursuant to Chapter 186 of the Acts of 2024, An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options.
The task force, created by the state Legislature and comprised of maternal health care providers, experts, and researchers from across the Commonwealth, is charged with studying and reporting on maternal health access and birthing patient safety across Massachusetts. The research oversee by the members will include the current availability of maternal health services, financial investment in maternal health care, and the impact of past essential services closures.
“Rates of severe maternal morbidity – potentially life-threatening complications of labor and delivery that may result in significant short- or long-term consequences to health – have nearly doubled in Massachusetts over the past decade, and the HPC’s research demonstrates that people of color bear the brunt of these adverse health outcomes,” said Dr. Alecia McGregor, Task Force Co-Chair and HPC Commissioner. “People in Massachusetts are further put at risk by worrisome gaps in access to perinatal care, created in part by hospital obstetric unit closures. The work of this task force will help the Commonwealth prioritize investments to ensure that all residents have access to high-quality, culturally competent, and responsive maternal health services.”
“Every birthing person deserves high quality, compassionate, and culturally responsive care to have a safe and healthy pregnancy,” said Dr. Cristina Alonso, Task Force Co-Chair and Director of Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood at DPH. “However, birthing people, especially among Black non-Hispanic women, continue to experience longstanding racial inequities, gaps in health care access, and other systemic challenges that disproportionately put them at risk for lifelong complications. Through this task force, we are taking meaningful steps towards achieving equitable outcomes for all birthing families.”
The law designates the nine members of the task force, as nominated by specific organizations or selected as designees. The task force anticipates engaging additional maternal health care providers, experts, community organizations, and patients in this important work.
Membership List
- Task Force Co-Chair Cristina Alonso, DrPH, Director of Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood, Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)
- Task Force Co-Chair Alecia McGregor, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Politics, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Commissioner, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC)
- Nashira Baril, MPH, Executive Director and Founder, Neighborhood Birth Center
- Amy Gagnon, RN, Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA)
- Godwin Osei-Poku, MD, DrPH, Associate Research Director, Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety
- Christin Price, MD, Administrative Director, Perinatal Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN)
- Leigh Simons, MPH, Senior Director, Healthcare Policy, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA)
- Sara Shields, MD, Chair, Worcester Committee on Maternal and Perinatal Welfare, Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS)
- Huong Trieu, PhD, Senior Director of Research, Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA)
Task Force Legislative Mandates
- Study the current availability of and access to maternal health services and maternal health care across regions of the Commonwealth and among birthing patient populations, including the essential service closure process, the adequacy of the maternal health care workforce and other topics;
- Identify methods to increase the financial investment in and patient access to maternal health care across the Commonwealth and ensure equitable access for the most vulnerable birthing patient populations; and
- Issue a report on the task force’s findings and policy recommendations.
More information on the Maternal Health Access and Birthing Patient Safety Task Force and a recording and presentation materials from the meeting are available on the HPC’s website.
