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Editor's Note: The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and reverse a legal precedent of nearly 50 years is no surprise. The willingness of the Court's majority to disrespect the importance of women's autonomy and catapult them backwards into a 19th century, second-class status speaks volumes about the majority's lack of respect for women's equality and individual dignity.

Maternity care in "community birth" settings – both such as birth centers and planned home birth – is associated with lower rates of preterm and cesarean birth and higher breastfeeding rates compared to similar people with standard physician-led and hospital-based maternity care. Keep reading to learn why.

Black Maternal Health Week was created to raise awareness of the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes for Black women and to inspire activism in support of Black-led maternal health initiatives. Founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the goals of Black Maternal Health Week are to: Deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the US...

As a labor and delivery nurse, I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of untreated substance use disorders (SUD) and mental illnesses in pregnancy and postpartum—as one of the many ways our healthcare system fails to support and care for these moms and babies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in nearly 50,000 cases and more than 60 deaths among pregnant people across the United States. And these numbers will surely increase as infections continue to surge over the winter months.

Most sexual assault is never reported,often because survivors distrust or fear the police, or believe that the police can’t or won’t do anything to help.

Summary of  new report on maternity care system.

Too many Black women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth. It's unacceptable. We're proud to support Black Mamas Matter Alliance's Black Maternal Health Week.

Trump’s budget proposal includes dramatic changes to health care and a very limited paid leave policy that ignores the importance of medical leave for new moms.

At her confirmation hearing last week, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said she thinks it should once again be optional for health plans to cover maternity care.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of a completely updated ChildbirthConnection.org – our online hub for evidence-based information on childbirth and maternity care. 

On the heels of last month’s Cesarean Awareness Month, there has been robust public discussion about how to reduce the high cesarean birth rate in the United States.

Cesarean Awareness Month has been an important opportunity to raise awareness about the high cesarean section rate in the United States.

The road to a safe and healthy birth in our over-medicalized maternal care system can be like a drive through a foreign city without a map.

Early elective delivery (EED), defined as a delivery before 39 weeks of gestation without medical necessity, places women and babies at risk for harm, offers no benefits to either, and increases costs for taxpayers and for women and their families.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Peggy Young v. United Parcel Service (UPS) this week, a case that could help secure — or erode — pregnant workers' right to equal treatment.

The preeminent medical journal The Lancet has just released its Midwifery Series, a major project to take stock of the contribution of midwifery to the well-being of childbearing women and newborns.

Mother's Day is here. That means that if you're like many people, you've recently spent some time asking yourself what your mother (or the mothers in your life) need. 

As Mother’s Day approaches, we renew our commitment to improving the quality of maternity care so women can enjoy safe, satisfying pregnancies and births, and babies can have a healthy start in life. We ask you to join us.

The quality of maternity care in our country needs improvement. While transforming the maternity care system will take time, there is progress to report.