skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Birth Workers Call for Expanded Coverage of Pregnant Women, Doulas

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 3, 2019   

[STORY UPDATED 7/09/19]

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia's Medicaid agency has launched a new outreach program to help lower the maternal mortality rate of black women, but birth workers who care for women of color say the state can do a lot more.

Noting that black mothers in Virginia consistently have died at more than twice the rate of white mothers, during and after pregnancy, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services announced this week the use of new technology to ensure that qualifying low-income women don't experience a gap in health-insurance coverage.

For Kenda Sutton-El, co-founder of Birth in Color RVA, a network of doulas and birth workers, part of the problem is lack of access to care.

"Postpartum depression doesn't peak until almost 120 days," she said. "So, why aren't we allowing them to have Medicaid up until a year after giving childbirth?"

DMAS, which administers Medicaid in Virginia, said some women do lose their coverage 60 days after giving birth, but not all. The state's decision to expand Medicaid also means more 290,000 people have health insurance, about 60% of them women.

The agency has said it will work with other state agencies and managed-care organizations to strengthen early-childhood interventions, and launch an outreach campaign this fall to reach more pregnant women.

Sutton-El said she thinks the state should invest more to support doulas, or non-medical professionals who provide physical and emotional support through a person's pregnancy. For centuries, she said, doulas and midwives of color have been crucial to ensuring the safety of birthing women of color.

"I'd also like to see some funding given to doulas as well, but not a criteria – where New York has developed ... doulas have to be dona-certified," she said. "There's other organizations that have really, really, good training for doulas."

She said she thinks New York went too far by forcing a largely cultural practice to be subjected to licensure and certification from the state.

Last month, Gov. Ralph Northam announced a goal of eliminating racial disparities in mortality rates by 2025. It's part of his pledge to focus on Virginia's longstanding history of racial inequity after a blackface scandal nearly forced him out of office in February.

More information is online at birthincolorrva.org, and the New York doula law is at nysenate.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021