The United States has the worst maternal health outcomes among high-income nations – despite spending $111 billion yearly on maternal and infant care. People of color, particularly Black and Indigenous birthing people† and parents, bear the brunt of this fundamental failing. Today, there is more recognition than ever of the influence of structural forces on maternal and infant health and a heightened willingness to address those factors in a meaningful way. We cannot afford to waste this opportunity.
This series was created to provide decisionmakers with a better understanding of how different socioeconomic needs, which are driven by racism and other structural inequities, affect the health of pregnant people and their infants, and to provide concrete recommendations about how to address these needs. We must use this historic moment to advance the comprehensive policies needed so we can all thrive. (author abstract)