Connecticut Health Foundation Releases Maternal Health Equity Blueprint

The Connecticut Health Foundation announced it has published a new blueprint for maternal health equity.  The blueprint was shaped by insights from a multidisciplinary advisory committee — on which the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) participated — that facilitated collaboration among people with lived experience, decision-makers, and subject-matter experts already working to address maternal health equity issues across the state and nation. 

The blueprint is designed to inform the development of effective and inclusive maternal health policies in Connecticut.  It outlines key next steps to reduce the rate of severe maternal morbidity among Black women by 50% within three years (2026-2029) and calls for action from Connecticut policymakers, healthcare providers, community-based organizations, philanthropy, and others.

The blueprint’s recommendations focus on five key topics:

• Tracking and awareness: Treating inequities in severe maternal morbidity as a critical public health issue
• Access to all provider types: Ensuring patients can access a wide range of maternal healthcare providers, including doulas and community health workers
• Behavioral health: Strengthening connections between maternal health and behavioral health services
• Workforce diversity and training: Addressing discrimination in healthcare and diversifying the workforce
• Economic stability: Increasing economic security and economic mobility among families

The blueprint also includes a set of first-year actions to be carried out by leaders in multiple sectors.

Mark Schaefer, vice president of system innovation and financing, was appointed to the advisory committee when it launched in October 2024.  CHA has continued to advocate for and advance efforts to improve maternal health outcomes with community partners, guided by its four-part Statewide Strategy To Improve Maternal Health, which includes addressing structural, upstream, root-cause drivers of maternal health such as racism, discrimination, and economic inequality.

Click here to learn more about CHA’s continuous advocacy and ongoing initiatives to improve maternal health.

Click here to read the blueprint’s executive summary.