Walton-backed Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America pledges $100 million to halve U.S. maternal deaths by 2031

The useful part

The United States already ranks poorly against other countries on maternal mortality rates. Azar, assistant clinical professor with NYU Langone Medical Center, joined NBCLX to discuss what to expect after Roe v. Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America, a bipartisan campaign founded by philanthropists Olivia and Tom Walton, announced a $100 million pledge Thursday to make giving birth in the United States safer.

How it works

• Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are WATCH HERE "For millions of moms in America, maternal health is bad and getting worse," Olivia Walton told The Associated Press in an interview.
• LEARN MORE Improving data collection and accelerating hospitals' reporting of deaths is an important pillar of the new Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America initiative, Walton said.
• "I've got blue-state solutions of what works, red-state solutions of what works, and purple-state solutions of what works," she said.
• "The goal is to prove that this works and then have state funding take it over." The focus on states, however, doesn't mean the initiative won't seek federal solutions as well.
• "It's imperative we work together across both the public and private sectors to reverse this alarming trend." Democratic Sen.

What to take from it

Walton said states are "in the driver's seat" for making changes to maternal and infant healthcare, in part because about 40% of births are paid for by Medicaid. Walton plans to use the $100 million commitment as a way to encourage state governments to match the nonprofit's investment. "Taking on risk and going first is a great use of philanthropic capital," she said.

Example or evidence

• Create a free account with NBC 5 DFW to save articles and videos.
• Prevention said 688 people died in 2024 during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth.
• "You can't fix what you can't measure," she said, adding that the Waltons' nonprofit Heartland Forward partnered with the U.S.
• Health Sep 4, 2024 America is trying to fix its maternal mortality crisis with federal, state and local programs news Oct 13, 2023 The U.S.

Details worth keeping

"There's just so much bipartisan consensus around wanting to fix this. I really think the political will is there and part of our job is to help surface that with an information campaign." According to the most recent data available, the United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations. has high maternal mortality rates — and it has gotten worse for Latinas The U.S.

Related coverage

• Fortune: The couple is treating it as seed money, hoping states and other donors will multiply it to tackle the maternal mortality crisis.
• Wishtv: The Trump administration announced a $120 million federal investment to expand maternal and infant health services, increase primary care access, and modernize healthcare infrastructure in rural Indiana...
• Nbcdfw: Abide Women's Health Services says up-to-date information about pregnancy-related and maternal deaths can be critical to preventing future deaths.