Connecticut Health Foundation presents maternal health equity blueprint to Maternal Mortality Review Committee

Tiffany Donaldson of the Connecticut Health Foundation presented the foundation's maternal health equity blueprint to the Connecticut Maternal Mortality Review Committee at its February meeting, urging policy and administrative changes to reduce severe maternal morbidity and close racial disparities.

The blueprint, developed with input from an advisory committee and hundreds of community interviews, outlines five priority areas. Ariel Levenbecker, who discussed the priorities in detail, said the first is to "treat inequities in severe maternal morbidity as a critical public health issue" by establishing a statewide severe maternal morbidity (SMM) review process and common data standards so the state can consistently measure and track SMM.

The foundation recommended expanding access to a broader range of maternal health providers, including community health workers and doulas, and examining financing reforms such as alternative payment models to support team‑based prenatal care and universal phone‑visiting programs. "Financing is such an important lever in determining what providers are available to patients," Levenbecker said.

Levenbecker also highlighted the intersection of maternal and behavioral health, noting the committee's work that behavioral‑health issues were implicated in nearly half of maternal deaths studied between 2015 and 2020. She said community feedback raised fears that seeking substance‑use or mental‑health treatment could trigger inappropriate referrals to child‑welfare authorities, which discourages some people from seeking care.

On workforce and accountability, the presentation noted that the MMRC's review "implicated discrimination in 70 percent of deaths studied" during the 2018'2020 period and recommended increasing the number and diversity of doulas, nurse midwives and behavioral health providers, plus evidence‑based bias‑reduction training and disaggregated quality metrics to hold systems accountable.

The fifth priority focuses on economic security measures that influence health outside clinical settings, including paid sick leave, family and medical leave, and proposals referenced in the blueprint such as CT baby bonds. Donaldson said the foundation will follow up by mapping existing efforts, widening convenings beyond the advisory group, and considering how to target grantmaking to support implementation. "We'll follow up with these slides so that you have the direct links," she said.

The committee indicated it would receive the foundation's materials with meeting minutes and consider the blueprint recommendations as part of ongoing MMRC work.