The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet its maternal mortality rate is more than three times higher than other high-income nations. And within the U.S., Black moms are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white moms. When we talk about this reality, it's important to know that change is possible — and us moms are not alone in the fight. 

Lawmakers have introduced legislation in Congress to address the maternal mortality crisis. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, more commonly known as the Momnibus, is made up of 13 bills that address critical improvements necessary to give us better health outcomes. 

"We are in a maternal health crisis in this country, and due to discriminatory practices within the health care system, Black and Indigenous people are impacted disproportionately," U.S. Senator Cory Booker told What to Expect. The Momnibus legislation "would directly address these disparities and ensure that everyone can receive adequate maternal health care regardless of their racial or economic background."

On #BumpDay, happening this year on July 19, What to Expect is raising awareness for the disparities that exist in maternal health care. Now is the time to voice your support for the Momnibus that would protect us and our babies. Here's why contacting your senators and representatives via The What to Expect Project can make a difference. 

What is the Momnibus?

The legislative package, reintroduced this May by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Alma Adams (NC-12), includes 13 individual bills designed to improve maternal health outcomes.[1] The bills "address every clinical and non-clinical factor leading to the maternal health crisis that we have here in the United States," Underwood told What to Expect.

The bills' aims include:

  1. Investing in housing, transportation, nutrition and other social factors that affect maternal health.
  2. Helping low-income nursing and postpartum people and their babies access healthy food.
  3. Reducing bias and racism in health care settings.
  4. Improving maternal health care for veterans. 
  5. Diversifying the ranks of maternal health care workers, including doctors, nurses, doulas, and midwives, and studying culturally competent care. 
  6. Further researching what's causing the maternal health crisis. 
  7. Supporting maternal mental health and helping parents with substance use disorders. 
  8. Protecting incarcerated moms and their babies by investing in their health care and ending the use of restraints on pregnant people. 
  9. Expanding the use of digital tools like telehealth, targeting maternal health care deserts. 
  10. Making quality maternal health care more accessible and extending Medicaid coverage to one year postpartum
  11. Collecting better data on maternal and infant health during public health emergencies. 
  12. Protecting moms and infants from climate change-related health risks.
  13. Increasing maternal vaccination rates. 

How will the Momnibus make a difference?

More than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,[2] and the evidence-based and data-driven initiatives in the Momnibus aim to fix that using a holistic approach.

"We've never had comprehensive legislation to address maternal mortality," Underwood explains. 

Historically, maternal health issues have been addressed in silos, says Helena Grant, president of New York Midwives, but the Momnibus looks at the big picture. It addresses clinical care as well as "preventative care and how we do work in the community that is culturally responsive," she says.

For Grant, the Momnibus is especially needed right now because worsening maternal health outcomes affect communities as a whole. 

"It's needed because children are growing up without their mothers," she explains. "It's needed because grandmothers are outliving their daughters because of maternal death. It's needed because women and birthing people tend to be the people who uphold community."

Hearing about the status of the maternal health system in the United States can cause stress and anxiety, Underwood acknowledges. 

"I want families to know that we have their back, that we are working so hard to get them the resources so that they know that they can expect high-quality care," she explained. "So that they will be able to have a choice and provider no matter where they live in the country. And so that they don't have to shoulder this burden of having to advocate for themselves and literally fight for their lives."

What's happening with the Momnibus?

Originally introduced in 2020 with then Senator Kamala Harris, the Momnibus never passed the Senate in its entirety. Only one bill in the package, the Protecting Moms Who Serve Act, has become law. 

The rest of the Momnibus is still on the table, though. Other bills are under negotiation as they work their way through the legislative process. Underwood says her team is working urgently to ensure the Momnibus can get signed into law this year.

How you can support the Momnibus

The best way to support the Momnibus is by contacting your congressional representative along with your state's two senators and urging them to co-sponsor the Momnibus, Underwood says. Speaking up can make a difference. 

Find your representatives through the What to Expect Project. There, you'll see suggested language to use in an email or written letter encouraging their support. Or pick up the phone and tell your representatives why these 13 bills that can reduce preventable maternal deaths matter to you. Let them know that now is the time for them to save lives. 

"This is a problem we can solve," Underwood explains. "We can end our nation's maternal health crisis. If we speak up, if we educate our policymakers, and if we demand action, this can get done and we know it will work. We just have to continue to make our voices heard."