Global Social Impact Organization, Reach, Spearheads Campaign to End Maternal Mortality Crisis, Beginning with US
Every day, nearly 900 pregnant women die during childbirth. 80% of those deaths are avoidable through simple, preventative measures to which Reach is determined all pregnant women have access
Sep 29, 2020, 18:39 ET
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The need to address the maternal mortality crisis is now greater than ever. The US has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and death rates are rising. Like the global pandemic which has exacerbated the crisis, maternal mortality disproportionately impacts communities of color. In The US, Black women are six times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
The main goal of Reach's National Maternal Mortality & Morbidity Prevention Campaign is for every pregnant woman to have a blood pressure (BP) monitor to use daily for 90 days pre- and post-partum. According to the CDC, change in BP is an indicator of more than 65% of conditions responsible for maternal deaths.
Reach advocate Asha Immanuelle, RN, MAS-PHM explains. "A pattern of care that I regularly observed as a perinatal nurse was Black women having a delay in getting appropriate treatment which resulted in poorer perinatal outcomes compared to White women. Reach's goal of providing a blood pressure monitor for every pregnant woman in the 3rd trimester is a pioneering practice and a structural solution that specifically addresses Black maternal health inequities."
The pandemic is responsible for increasing numbers of pregnant women avoiding prenatal care, making affordable, simple, home-based BP monitoring critical to fight rising maternal mortality rates.
Campaign supporters include TwinLogic Strategies, A&D Medical, WONDER, American Telemedicine Association, HLTH, and University of Oxford-based digital health company Total Mama. Together with Reach, they are calling on industry leaders to protect and support expectant and new mothers and commit to building a stronger maternal health care system for the future by providing:
- Discounts, Rebates, Subsidies of BP monitors for expectant and new mothers.
- Reimbursement for remote patient monitoring, and perinatal telehealth visits when clinically appropriate.
- Extended Medicaid Regulations requiring daily BP monitoring for 90 days postpartum.
- Community Health Education for expecting and new parents.
- Obstetrician Education on digital health technologies.
- Patient Education Materials.
SOURCE Reach
