The Momnibus: Perinatal Workforce Act

Introduced by Rep. Gwen Moore and Senator Tammy Baldwin

Background

One driving force of the U.S. maternal health crisis is a lack of access to maternity care, and to culturally congruent maternity care and support specifically. More than 1,000 American counties are “maternity care deserts,” with no hospitals offering obstetric care and zero obstetric providers, and more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age live in maternity care deserts.11 Women in maternity care deserts are more likely to have asthma and hypertension than women in counties with full access to maternity care,12 putting them at greater risk for pregnancy complications and pregnancy-related death.13

One solution to this glaring shortage is to grow and diversify the perinatal health workforce. The Perinatal Workforce Act makes historic investments to increase the number of maternity care providers and non-clinical perinatal health workers who offer culturally congruent care and support during and after pregnancy.

For more information or to add your organization’s endorsement to the list below, please email BlackMaternalHealthCaucus@mail.house.gov.

Bill Summary

The Perinatal Workforce Act will:

  1. Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to (1) provide guidance to states on the promotion of racially, ethnically, and professionally diverse maternity care teams and (2) to study how culturally congruent maternity care promotes better outcomes for moms, especially in communities of color.
  2. Provide funding to establish and scale programs that will grow and diversify the maternal health clinical and non-clinical workforce, increasing the number of nurses, midwives, physician assistants, doulas, and other perinatal health workers who moms can trust throughout their pregnancies, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period.
  3. Study the barriers that prevent women – particularly from underserved communities – from entering maternity care professions and receiving equitable compensation.

Click HERE for a printable one-pager on the bill.

Cosponsors

Click HERE for the current list of House cosponsors and HERE for the current list of Senate cosponsors.

Endorsements

The Perinatal Workforce Act is endorsed by the following organizations:

  1. 1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions
  2. A Better Balance
  3. ACA Consumer Advocacy
  4. ACHNE
  5. African American Breastfeeding Network
  6. African Heritage PA Caucus
  7. Alliance to End Hunger
  8. American Academy of Family Physicians
  9. American Academy of Nursing
  10. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
  11. American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
  12. American Association of Birth Centers
  13. American Association of Colleges of Nursing
  14. American College of Nurse-Midwives
  15. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  16. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  17. American Heart Association
  18. American Muslim Health Professionals
  19. American Nurses Association
  20. American Psychological Association
  21. American Public Health Association
  22. Ancient Song
  23. Anxiety and Depression Association of America
  24. Arika Trim Foundation
  25. Association of Black Cardiologists
  26. Association of Black Women Physicians
  27. Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
  28. Association of Physician Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  29. Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN)
  30. Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
  31. Baby Cafe USA
  32. Babyscripts
  33. Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative
  34. Big Cities Health Coalition
  35. Birthing Beautiful Communities
  36. Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA)
  37. Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association
  38. Black Women Birthing Justice, Inc
  39. Bloom Maternal Health
  40. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)
  41. Blue Shield of California
  42. Bobbie
  43. Boston Medical Center
  44. Breastfeed Durham
  45. Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities
  46. BreastfeedLA
  47. California Breastfeeding Coalition
  48. CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association)
  49. Catholic Health Association of the United States
  50. Catholics for Choice
  51. Center for American Progress
  52. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
  53. Center for Reproductive Rights
  54. Champaign County Health Care Consumers
  55. Children's Health Fund
  56. Cityblock Health
  57. Commonsense Childbirth Inc.
  58. Community Catalyst
  59. Deans' Nursing Policy Coalition
  60. Diversity Uplifts, Inc.
  61. DONA International
  62. Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project
  63. EcoMadres
  64. EverThrive Illinois
  65. Every Mother Counts
  66. Families USA
  67. Federation of American Hospitals
  68. Fibroid Foundation
  69. First Focus Campaign for Children
  70. Futures Without Violence
  71. GA Maternal Fetal Health Alliance
  72. GLO Preemies
  73. Glow Birth & Body and The Birth Deck
  74. Grow Midwives, LLC
  75. Hackensack Meridian Health
  76. Harambee Birth and Family Center (HBFC)
  77. Health Tech for Medicaid (HT4M)
  78. HealthConnect One
  79. Healthy Birth Day Inc.
  80. HealthyWomen
  81. Heluna Health
  82. In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda
  83. Ingram Screening, LLC
  84. International OCD Foundation
  85. Lamaze International
  86. Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms Program at UMass Chan Medical School
  87. Living Well Black
  88. Luna Tierra Birth Center
  89. Majaica
  90. Malone Center
  91. Mamatoto Village
  92. March for Moms
  93. March of Dimes
  94. Mary Amelia Center for Women's Health Equity Research
  95. Maternal Applications of Technology for Community Health (MATCH) Coalition
  96. Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
  97. Maternity Care Coalition
  98. Melinated Moms
  99. Mental Health America
  100. Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
  101. Mom Congres
  102. Mom.ME.
  103. Mom2Mom Global
  104. Momma’s Village Fayetteville
  105. Moms Clean Air Force
  106. MomsRising
  107. Mothering Justice
  108. Mothers Out Front
  109. NARAL Pro-Choice America
  110. Narrative Nation Inc.
  111. National Alliance to impact the Social Determinants of Health (NASDOH)
  112. National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
  113. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
  114. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
  115. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
  116. National Association of School Nurses
  117. National Health Law Program
  118. National Healthy Start Association
  119. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
  120. National League for Nursing
  121. National Medical Association
  122. National Medical Fellowships, Inc.,
  123. National Organization for Women
  124. National Organization for Women - Hollywood Chapter
  125. National Partnership for Women & Families
  126. National Perinatal Task Force
  127. National Rural Health Association
  128. National Student Nurses' Association
  129. National Urban League
  130. National WIC Association
  131. National Women's Law Center
  132. Nemours Children's Health
  133. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
  134. New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
  135. Nurse-Family Partnership
  136. Nurses for America
  137. Nzuri Doula Services
  138. Ob Hospitalist Group
  139. Once Upon A Preemie, Inc
  140. PA Education Association
  141. Pace University
  142. Partners In Health
  143. Poppy Seed Health
  144. Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  145. Power to Decide
  146. Pregnancy Justice
  147. Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
  148. Prolacta Bioscience
  149. Protect Our Care
  150. Reach Healthcare - Happy Mama
  151. riskLD
  152. Shades of Blue Project
  153. Sista Midwife Productions
  154. Sister to Sister International, Inc.
  155. SisterReach
  156. SisterReach Illinois
  157. Six Dimensions
  158. SMART Recovery
  159. Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  160. Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
  161. Society for Women's Health Research
  162. Sojourners
  163. Star Legacy Foundation
  164. The Arc of the United States
  165. The Children's Partnership
  166. The Collaborative
  167. The Kennedy Forum
  168. The National Women's Health Network
  169. The Root Cause Coalition
  170. The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
  171. Third Way
  172. Trust for America's Health
  173. U.S. Breastfeeding Committee
  174. Union for Reform Judaism
  175. United Against Inequities in Disease
  176. United Church of Christ Justice and Local Church Ministries
  177. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
  178. Urban Baby Beginnings
  179. Urban Mommy Inc
  180. Vitality Wellness Solutions PLLC
  181. What to Expect Project
  182. Wolomi
  183. ZERO TO THREE

 

11 March of Dimes: Nowhere To Go

12 March of Dimes: Nowhere To Go

13 CDC: Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy and Mortality at Delivery Hospitalization