Legislative Agenda

Improved Maternal & Infant Health Outcomes

Why We Advocate

We can all agree that: 

  • Human dignity should inform all policy and budget priorities;
  • The prenatal and postpartum periods are the most vulnerable time of a woman and child’s life; 
  • All mothers and babies are deserving of the highest quality healthcare; and 
  • No child should lose their mother to a preventable death.

Yet, the U.S. has the highest maternal death rate of any high-income country and more than 80 percent of these deaths are preventable, according to the CDC.  

American women across the entire country, in both rural and urban settings, and of all religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds are impacted by the maternal health crisis. Over 2 million women of childbearing age and 130,000 babies don’t have access to prenatal care, and despite 13% of babies being born in rural areas, only six percent of maternity care providers practice in these communities. Additionally, Black and Indigenous women are dying at rates of 2 to 3 times that of white women, and over the last 20 years, maternal death rates have tripled in the South and quintupled in the Midwest. 

Access to reproductive health care has a direct impact on maternal and infant death rates. Between 2018 and 2022, death rates for women of childbearing age were 34 percent higher in abortion-restriction states. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there has been an increase in deaths of infants and mothers in states with more abortion restrictions. We also know that maternal health providers are leaving states with more abortion restrictions because these laws allow judges, lawyers and juries without any medical training to undermine the medical judgement and expertise of doctors. 

The maternal health crisis is a family crisis. When a mother dies or is disabled in childbirth, there are long-term economic consequences to her surviving family and community, including financial instability (loss of income, funeral expenses), loss of education among surviving children, increased mortality among surviving children, and difficulty managing the household for the father or partner, leading to family separation and damaged family integrity.
Mothers are the foundation of our families and our future. Investing in maternal health ensures that every child has the best start in life, while reducing long-term healthcare costs for all. We call on Congress to prioritize improving maternal and infant health outcomes in America.

Chamber of Mothers Principles

  • Critical investments are needed to decrease the maternal death rate in the U.S.
  • We can’t improve maternal physical health outcomes without critical investments in maternal mental health.
  • Law and policy should be crafted with input from healthcare providers, including maternal mental and physical health clinicians and birth workers.
  • Data collection to improve maternal health outcomes should be limited by an individual’s right to privacy.
  • We need medicaid coverage for the full 24 month postpartum period across all 50 states
  • The Black maternal mortality crisis is everyone’s crisis.
  • Reproductive health and reproductive assistance (IUI, IVF, etc.) are maternal health care and reproductive health decisions should be made between a person and their healthcare provider. 
  • No mother or baby should be without quality healthcare. 
  • There should be zero avoidable maternal deaths in the United States.

Chamber of Mother’s Maternal & Infant Health Policy Platform

  • BABIES Act (S.1598): Increases access to high-quality birth center care by establishing a demonstration in six states of a prospective payment model for the birth center facility and professional services for Medicaid clients. These birth centers would be located in areas with an existing lack of access and poor outcomes and would help address the challenges of maternity care deserts. The BABIES Act will also provide grants administered by HRSA for start-up funding for birth centers. This funding could be used toward costs for renovation or construction of buildings, equipment purchase, or costs related to accreditation or licensure.
  • Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act (S.141): Bipartisan bill that requires CMS to provide coverage recommendations for remote devices such as those that can check for irregularities in blood pressure, blood glucose, and pulse rates which can be indicators of potential pregnancy complications. It also requires CMS to update state resources, such as state Medicaid telehealth toolkits, to correspond with the recommendations provided.
  • Improving Access to Prenatal Care for Military Families Act (S.5330): Creates a Department of Defense (DoD) pilot program to designate pregnancy as a Qualifying Life Event under the TRICARE program, empowering dependents of service members to choose a health care plan that meets their needs during pregnancy.
  • Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (H.R.1317/S.575): This bipartisan legislation would increase healthcare access, improve quality of care, and lower costs by removing the remaining barriers imposed by the federal government in the Medicare and Medicaid programs that prevent Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) from practicing the full scope of their education and clinical training to the level that is approved in the state where they practice.
  • Midwives for MOMS Act (S. 1599): Bipartisan legislation that will increase access to evidence-based and culturally congruent maternity care as provided by certified professional midwives (CPMs), certified nurse-midwives (CNMs), and certified midwives (CMs) by establishing two new funding streams for midwifery education: one in the Title VII Health Professions Training Programs, and one in the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs. Additionally, the bill will prioritize students from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • MIDWIVES for Service Members Act (H.R.3202): Bipartisan, cost-neutral bill that establishes a pilot program requiring TRICARE coverage of Certified Midwives (CM) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) in states where they are licensed and regulated the same as Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM). 
  • PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R.1197): Bipartisan legislation that will improve pregnancy outcomes and infant health by continuing federal research, education, and intervention activities to reduce preterm birth and infant mortality.
  • Pregnant and Postpartum Women Treatment Reauthorization Act (S.1004) Bipartisan legislation that ensures pregnant and postpartum women can access mental health and substance use disorder care. It also reauthorizes a South Carolina pilot program called Mom’s IMProving Access to Maternal Health and Substance Use Disorder Care Through Telemedicine and Telemonitoring (IMPACTT).
  • Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R.1909): Bipartisan bill that provides support for state-based efforts to improve maternal mortality review committees; enhances surveillance of pregnancy-associated and related deaths; and otherwise improves and reduces disparities in maternal health outcomes.
  • Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act (H.R.1254/S.380): Bipartisan legislation that will support rural hospitals and prepare doctors to handle obstetric emergencies.
  • Tech to Save Moms Act (S.958):Bipartisan bill that leverages the use of telehealth to improve maternal health outcomes, including expanding remote patient monitoring and promoting virtual training and capacity-building models.