Maternal Health

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How Policies That Punish Pregnant Women Backfire

There is overwhelming evidence and consensus from the medical and public health communities that supportive approaches are what help pregnant women with substance use disorders. Unfortunately, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has opened the door for more policies that police and punish women rather than these solutions that can save lives.

Rachel Landis, Laura J. Faherty @LauraFahertyMD, et al.

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Combating Abortion Misinformation in the Post-Roe Environment

Misinformation could become a major barrier to individuals trying to navigate their way to safe, legal, and quality reproductive care. What might states, health insurers, and technology companies do to address this issue?

Julia Rollison @Julia_Rollison

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Nuclear Deterrence, COVID-19 and Infant Deaths, Criminal Justice Reform: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.

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Pandemic-Era Parties, China's Global Influence, Reducing Infant Mortality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on assessing the risk of small gatherings during the pandemic, China's ability to exert influence around the world, using big data to reduce infant mortality, and more.

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Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk

Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help.

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Mothers Need a Continuous System of Care Even After Babies Are Born

In the United States, babies are born into a system of well-child care—a series of planned health care visits designed to protect their health from day one through age six. But no such system exists for their mothers. How do we create a system of health care for mothers that mirrors well-child care?

Lois McCloskey, Ann Celi, et al.

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Infectious Diseases, Zimbabwe, Students with Disabilities: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the U.S. response to infectious diseases, Zimbabwe after Mugabe, the support for students with disabilities, and more.

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Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby

About half of all U.S. states now have policies that criminalize substance use during pregnancy, consider it grounds for civil commitment, or consider it child abuse or neglect. But research suggests that punitive policies aren't beneficial for infants or their mothers.

Laura J. Faherty @LauraFahertyMD

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How Americans Get the News, Iran, Caregiving: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how Americans consume the news, U.S.–Iranian relations, how federal disability payments help caregivers, and more.

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Meghan Markle May Avoid the Spotlight After Giving Birth and Send a Powerful Public Health Message

Meghan Markle plans to break from royal tradition by declining to present her baby to the public on the the steps of the maternity ward, hours after giving birth, with flawless hair and makeup. This could bring attention to many of the postpartum challenges faced by women everywhere.

Sarah MacCarthy

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Is It Time to Extend Maternity Leave Across Europe?

Any policy solution for extending maternity leave must strike a balance between protecting infant health through extended breastfeeding and mitigating any potentially negative impact on the mother's career progression or increased costs to business.

Lucy Strang, Miriam Broeks

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The Economic Rationale for Investing in Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Proven benefits to reduced fertility — or to delayed start to childbearing and greater spacing between births — include lower maternal mortality, fewer unsafe abortions, reduced risks from early childbearing, and women's ability to engage in more income-generating opportunities.

Peter Glick, Sebastian Linnemayr

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New Depression-Screening Guidelines Could Help Both Mother and Child

Behavioral health professionals and community agencies often do not consider the impact of parental depression on young children or focus on the adult's role as a parent. New guidelines recommending depression screening during primary care visits for pregnant women and new mothers are a critical first step.

Dana Schultz

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Africa Succeeds in Meeting Many Long-Term U.N. Development Goals

Over the past decade and half, Africa has made great strides toward meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, eight objectives that included halving extreme poverty rates, providing universal primary education, and ending the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.

Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik

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A Tale of Two Deliveries, or an Out-of-Network Problem

Two mothers gave birth within weeks of each other, at the same hospital, using the same employer-sponsored insurance. Both had an epidural. But one received a surprise physician bill for anesthesiology, while the other didn't have to pay a dime. Why?

Erin Audrey Taylor, Layla Parast

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Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones

Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.

Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik

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Insurance and Incentives: A Dual Approach to Try to Improve Maternal Health in Nigeria

Less than 5% of Nigerians have insurance; two-thirds of all health care costs are paid out of pocket. When people must pay out of pocket for health care at the point of service, this restricts access, excludes the poorest and most vulnerable, and leads to delays in patients seeking help.

Adeyemi Okunogbe

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Maternal Deaths: Turning the Tide in a Nigerian State

Bold and innovative approaches are being developed in different parts of the African continent in the quest to reduce maternal mortality. A noteworthy example of this is the Abiye Safe Motherhood program in Ondo State, Nigeria.

Adeyemi Okunogbe