Arianna Huffington

Half Maternal Deaths in Five Years: New National Strategy

“Across the country,” writes Olivia Walton, “mothers are dying at rates that would have shocked our grandmothers.” Walton, the founder and CEO of Ingeborg Investments and Ingeborg Initiatives, lays out a call to action to stop what she rightly calls a moral crisis. The numbers are shocking: the U.S. maternal mortality rate has more than doubled over the past 40 years and is now two to three times higher than in Canada or England. Even worse, the CDC estimates that 84% of these deaths are preventable. To lead the way in reversing those numbers, Heartland Forward’s Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice is publishing “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America” — a state-led strategy to cut U.S. maternal mortality in half in five years. As Walton points out, for most private employers, maternal health is often their top cost driver. "We can make birth safer while making it less expensive,” she writes. "The data says so." There are solutions out there that we know work. As Walton writes, “We have the evidence. We have proof that progress is possible. Now we need leaders, employers, health systems, and philanthropy to step forward. Healthy moms are the foundation of healthy families. And healthy families are the foundation of a strong Arkansas — and a stronger America.” You can read more here: https://t.co/CC1u17YOCi