2023 Advocacy
March for Moms continues its mission of empowering family advocates in their communities on the state and national level. During the current legislative session we focused on these pillars of legislative support: equitable access to care, prenatal and postpartum period support for birthing families, investments in community based care, and reproductive rights.
Equitable access to care ensures that all people have access to healthcare including access to providers, medical insurance coverage for services tailored to moms and birthing people, screening, and abortion care. Prenatal and postpartum period support is crucial for families after the birth of their baby. Time and time again, research shows that this is the most vulnerable time for moms in terms of medical complications such as hypertension (high blood pressure), infection, and depression and suicide risk, as well as many other challenges. Community based organizations are often the first on the ground responders in times of crisis as well as during everyday challenges. Hospitals and health departments often refer patients and clients to such services because they know the quality and value of community based care. Families also trust community based organizations because they are often staffed and run by local community leaders and are easily accessible. March for Moms supports legislation that would ensure access to childcare and doula support as well as continued its commitment to supporting CBOs.
2023 Advocacy Pillars
- Postpartum period support for birthing people and families
- Equitable access to culturally, congruent care
- Investments in community-based organizations
- Prenatal-5
- Reproductive rights
2023 Coalition Affiliations
National
- National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers (NCIT)
- United States Breastfeeding Committee
- Global Liver Institute’s Pediatric and Rare Liver Disease Council
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Coalition
- Maternal Applications Of Technology For Community Health (MATCH) Coalition
- Georgetown Waiver Task Force
- Mind The Gap Coalition
- Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group-USA (SAWG-USA)
State
- Louisiana Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations
- Louisiana Region 3 Maternal & Child Health Community Advisory & Action Team
- East Baton Rouge Parish Maternal and Infant Health Coalition
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP)
Maternal & Child Health Bill Tracker
March For Moms 2023 Advocacy Activity
| State | Name | Description | Document | Outcome |
| New York | Paid Family Leave After Stillbirth | Ensures paid family leave for families affected by stillbirth. | Bill | |
| Georgia | SB 106 | 1. Increases access to maternity care using remote maternal health clinical services in pregnancy. 2. Provides a 3-year pilot program for remote monitoring services to eligible pregnant individuals covered by Medicaid. | Letter of support | Passed |
| Massachusetts | H669/S4222 | Permits parents to use campaign funds for childcare. | Bill information | |
| Ohio | H.B.33 Main Operating Appropriations Bill | Requires the Medicaid program to cover remote ultrasounds and remote fetal nonstress tests. Requires ODM to adopt rules to implement this coverage requirement. | Letter of support | |
| Federal | Name | Description | Document | Outcome |
| Request | USBC Welcome Letter to Congress | Welcome Letter to Congress calls on Congress to advance these five policy priorities: federal funding for breastfeeding, infant nutrition security, access to lactation support & supplies, workplace protections, and maternity care. | Sign on Letter | |
| Request | Free The Pill | Urged FDA commission to schedule hearing to Free the Pill , i.e. provide oral contraceptives over the counter. | Letter | |
| Appropriations | Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET) | Urged to provide $100 million for the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Sign on Letter | |
| Appropriations | MCH FY24 Title V Appropriations | Friends of MCH FY24 Title V Appropriations Letter calling for renewed funding for Title V grant to design and implement a wide range of statewide and community-level maternal and child health programs to fit the needs of their specific populations. | Sign on letter | |
| Legislation | Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) | Support the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would create a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care, a right for their patients to a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care, and a right for their patients to receive that care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access. | Sign on letter | |
| Appropriations | Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies appropriations | Calling for increased funding for the CDC Hospitals Promoting Breastfeeding Program in Fiscal Year 2024 | Sign on Letter | |
| Amicus brief | Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA | An urgent amicus brief in response to the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case, wherein anti-abortion actors are attempting to block the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone and remove mife from the market. | ||
| Appropriations | Into The Light for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Act of 2022 within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 | Authorization request for full funding for the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline and the HRSA maternal mental health state grant program. | Sign on Letter | |
| Request | FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) | A letter to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and requests the inclusion of two reports on maternal mental health in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) | Sign on Letter | |
| Legislation | Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2023 | The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act takes a federal stance on this crisis by declaring racism as the public health crisis that it is and confronting it head on through the development of two new initiatives at the CDC. | One-pager | |
| Legislation | Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act | Signed on as supporter of Momnibus 2.0, a collection of bills to address the maternity care crisis through historic investments that comprehensively address every driver of maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities in the United States. | Bill | |
| Legislation | Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) ACT | The FAMILY Act has changed significantly from last Congress to incorporate a number of key policy changes that bring it more in line with the paid leave title of Build Back Better, plus some additional improvements. | Sign on Letter | |
| Legislation | Midwives for MOMs Act | Signed on to support the Midwives for MOMs Act, which aims to address the maternal and infant mortality crisis by increasing the number of trained midwives in the United States. | Sign on Letter | |
| Legislation | PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2023 | Vital legislation to reauthorize and expand research, education, and intervention activities related to preterm birth. | Sign on Letter | |
| Legislation | Right to Contraception Act of 2023 | Legislation to protect an individual’s ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception. | Sign on Letter | |
| Regulatory | Save the Nursing Pillow | Call for regulatory action to consider the availability and preserve access to nursing supports for families. | Letter |