Optimizing maternal health is an important public health goal for the United States and is crucial to the well-being of future generations. The urgency of this goal is even more apparent during challenging times, such as the current pandemic which has highlighted striking health disparities in our nation. Maternal health is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. However, efforts to improve maternal health must extend beyond this time period and begin with promoting mental and physical health in young girls and adolescents, and continue throughout the reproductive years. This life-course approach to improving maternal health is highlighted in this Call to Action. This approach is also used in Healthy Women, Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy Futures: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Action Plan to Improve Maternal Health in America. While the HHS Action Plan summarizes the Department’s work to ensure the U.S. is one of the safest countries in the world to give birth, achieving this vision for all women, regardless of race, ethnicity, social and economic status, will require involvement from both public and private sectors. This Call to Action is intended to engage and equip individuals, organizations, and communities with actions to improve women’s health prior to, during, and following pregnancy.

Contents

• FOREWORD FROM THE SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
• FOREWORD FROM THE SURGEON GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
• 1. INTRODUCTION: CALLING FOR NATIONAL ACTION TO IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
• 2. THE CURRENT STATE: MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY IN THE UNITED STATES
  • MATERNAL MORTALITY
  • SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY
  • DIFFERENCES IN MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
• 3. RISKS TO MATERNAL HEALTH
  • HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (HYPERTENSION)
  • DIABETES
  • UNHEALTHY WEIGHT
  • INFECTIOUS DISEASES
  • SUBSTANCE USE AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
• 4. STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS: IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH AND REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY
  • WOMEN AND FAMILIES
  • STATES, TRIBES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
  • HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
  • HEALTH SYSTEMS, HOSPITALS, AND BIRTHING FACILITIES
  • PAYORS
  • EMPLOYERS
  • INNOVATORS
  • RESEARCHERS
• 5. CONCLUSION AND LONG-TERM VISION
• 6. GLOSSARY OF TERMS
• 7. ABBREVIATIONS
• 8. APPENDICES
  • APPENDIX A. MEASURING MATERNAL DEATHS AND PREGNANCY-RELATED DEATHS
  • APPENDIX B. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES
  • APPENDIX C. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• ENDNOTES