maternal health

For two years, federal funds have been available for states to extend postpartum health care from two months to a full year for moms on Medicaid. The policy is popular across the Midwest, with Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska all adopting an extension. Iowa remains hesitant.

Black mothers in Iowa are six times more likely to die as a result of childbirth than white mothers. On this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe and her guests explore the reasons for that statistic and the work being done to change that reality.

A study published in Health Affairs this week found states that expanded Medicaid eligibility saw fewer postpartum hospitalizations.

Millions of people are poised to lose access to abortion across Kentucky and parts of the Midwest pending court battles and elections. More pregnancies mean more need for prenatal care in a region already lacking.

In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for pregnant non-Hispanic Black people was three times the rate for white individuals. And in Iowa those numbers are even starker: Black people in Iowa are six times more likely to die during or shortly after childbirth than white individuals.

Charity Nebbe and her guests talk about their experiences and work to raise awareness about Black Maternal Health.

In Iowa, midwives who are specially trained in home birth are pushing for licensure, as interest in home births rises and rural labor and delivery units continue to shutter.

Dos congresistas de Iowa apoyan un proyecto de ley (Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act) que aclara que las actividades de prevención de la mortalidad fetal pueden financiarse a través de la Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, que se asigna a todos los departamentos de salud estatales.

Two lawmakers from Iowa have a proposal they hope will reduce the rate of stillbirths. They’re cosponsoring legislation that adds language to maternal health grants to include stillbirth prevention.

Listen back to Charity Nebbe's 2020 conversation about micro-preemies - babies born before 26 weeks gestation or weighing less than 1 point 12 ounces.