Healthy Moms Healthy Babies America Maternal Health Initiative

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies America Maternal Health Initiative is sponsored by Healthy Moms Healthy Babies America. A nonprofit initiative co-founded by Olivia Walton, aiming to improve maternal health in Arkansas and Kentucky by developing sustainable healthcare models for mothers and babies.

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies America America has the highest infant and maternal death rates in the developed world . The U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate of any wealthy country — and it has doubled in the last 40 years. Black women die at nearly three times the rate of white women.

The vast majority of these deaths are preventable. U.S. maternal deaths per 100,000 live births — more than double the rate of most wealthy peers. CDC NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, pooled 2019–2023 of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable , per the CDC.

CDC, Pregnancy-Related Deaths from State MMRCs (2021 data, 46 states), Aug 2025 annual U.S. economic cost of poor maternal health outcomes — nearly 1% of GDP. Heartland Forward, The Economic Case for Investing in Maternal Health Where you live can mean the difference between life and death Maternal mortality varies by more than 4× across U.S. states.

Tap or hover any state for its rate, the U.S. comparison, and the country with the closest national rate. – – deaths per 100,000 live births State rates and U.S. average: America's Health Rankings 2025, pooled 2019–2023 (CDC NVSS, 42-day maternal-death definition). Country comparison: WHO/UN MMEIG, Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000–2023 (released 2025), 2023 point estimates, same definition.

Methodology → Maternal deaths are the tip of the iceberg The same gaps in care that kill almost 900 U.S. mothers a year also drive 41,000 stillbirths and infant deaths, 60,000 near-fatal complications, 430,000 babies needing intensive medical care, 720,000 mothers in mental-health crisis, and 1. 2 million mothers left with lasting physical effects. The harm runs much deeper than the deaths.

CDC PMSS · CDC NVSS · CDC Severe Maternal Morbidity surveillance · AHRQ HCUP · NCHS Data Brief 525 · CDC PRAMS · SAMHSA NSDUH · peer-reviewed cohort studies. Annual U.S. figures, 2019–2023 window. Methodology → Healthy babies begin with healthy moms .

Today, there are life-threatening gaps in care — before, during, and after pregnancy. We're closing these gaps by uniting leaders and families around a state-led playbook to scale proven solutions across the country.

Identify risk earlier and remove barriers to prenatal visits Use virtual care to reach women far from providers Train more community health workers, doulas, and midwives Expand Access to Safe Birth Protect maternity units as more units close Coordinate safe birth options across health systems Reform payment models that chronically undervalue maternity care Provide Family Support for the First Year Connect moms to home visits or virtual check-ins within two weeks of birth Require mandatory mental health screenings Pregnancy-related deaths by cause These deaths come from a wide range of conditions — no single dominant cause.

The common thread is that the vast majority are preventable per CDC Maternal Mortality Review Committees. Cause breakdown: CDC MMRC, 2017–2019 (36 states; most recent fully-published structural breakdown — 2022–2023 not yet released). Preventability: CDC MMRC, 2021 data (46 states), published Aug 2025.

Methodology → Research, partnerships, and policy work — building the case and the coalition to cut U.S. maternal mortality in half. Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America (HMHBA) Announces $20 Million in State Grants for Arkansas and Kentucky HMHBA announced $20 million in catalytic funding for maternal health in Arkansas and Kentucky, its first state-level investments toward cutting the U.S. maternal death rate in half in five years.

Founder Olivia Walton made the announcement onstage at the Heartland Summit with Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Andy Beshear. Each state will receive $10 million over five years. The Hill: The Unifying Pro-Family Policy Hiding in Plain Sight A new national survey of 1,000 voters finds 86% of Americans say mothers should not be dying from preventable causes in childbirth, and all 15 policy solutions tested won majority support.

Olivia Walton and Kellyanne Conway call on the Senate to pass the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act and the NIH IMPROVE Act. Motherly: This Handy Voting Guide Will Help You Pick the Best Candidate for Maternal Health Motherly spotlights Vote Like a Mother, the free, nonpartisan voter guide from Chamber of Mothers and Healthy Moms Healthy Babies America.

Click any state to see its maternal mortality rate next to the records and platforms of its 2026 governor candidates. “It’s unacceptable that where you live still determines whether you survive having a baby in this country,” says executive director Robin Reck.

TODAY Show: Inside New Campaign to Cut Maternal Death Rate in Half Founder Olivia Walton and president Dr. Neel Shah join TODAY to announce that Walton and her husband are pledging $100 million toward cutting the U.S. maternal death rate in half — 87% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to the CDC.

“Investing in maternal health care is the single most strategic thing we can do for the future of American prosperity,” Walton says.

Watch the clip → September 2026 Olivia and Tom Walton Commit An Initial $100 Million to Cut U.S. Maternal Deaths in Half Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America announces an initial $100 million, five-year commitment from Olivia and Tom Walton to accelerate efforts to cut maternal deaths in half across the United States.

The investment will fund state matching grants, high-impact partnerships, and the infrastructure needed to move proven maternal health interventions into practice at scale.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America pledges $100M to cut US maternal mortality rate in half The Associated Press covers the $100 million commitment from Olivia Walton and her husband behind the bipartisan campaign to cut the U.S. maternal mortality rate in half within five years. We are a bipartisan national campaign .

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America is a national, bipartisan campaign for building awareness, creating urgency, and turning proven maternal-health solutions into practice at scale.

With a five-year goal of cutting U.S. maternal deaths in half, we work to make maternal health a national priority while partnering state by state to connect evidence, policy, public and private capital, health systems, employers, and community organizations — and help translate that momentum into changes in how care is delivered before, during, and after pregnancy.

Our role is to accelerate and strengthen the work of the maternal health field, not duplicate it. We elevate the issue and the solutions that already exist; help build public and political will for change; and use catalytic investment, partnerships, and implementation support to help proven approaches reach more families.

By aligning policy design with employer incentives and community infrastructure, policymakers can advance a model that strengthens families, supports businesses and promotes long-term economic stability. Maternal health shapes your workforce, your healthcare spend, and the communities you operate in. We translate the data into business cases and partnerships that move investment where it matters most.

By shifting from siloed OB-GYN care to a broader suite of maternal health providers, prenatal services become more accessible, with extended insurance coverage, and aligned with women’s needs throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Download our Call to Action (PDF) ↓ Preventing maternal death takes a coalition. These organizations are leading the research, advocacy, and direct support that save lives every day.

We’re proud to share their work with our community — and encourage those who can to support them through donations and advocacy. Advances safe, respectful, and equitable maternal health care through awareness raising, community-led grantmaking, and systems-change advocacy. Founded by Christy Turlington Burns.

Fights the U.S. maternal mortality crisis through crisis response for affected families, public education, and legislative advocacy. Founded by Charles Johnson IV in honor of his wife Kira Dixon Johnson. Offers postpartum nurse home visits to all families with newborns, providing health assessments, guidance, and community connections at no cost to parents so every family has the strongest start possible.

Provides need-based grants covering midwifery and holistic perinatal care for families who would otherwise lack access. Founded by Elaine Welteroth. Works to end preventable maternal death, preterm birth, and infant mortality through research funding, education, advocacy, and direct family support.

Unites mothers across America to win paid family and medical leave, affordable, accessible childcare, and improved maternal health outcomes through nonpartisan advocacy and a grassroots network of 50+ local chapters. Let's cut maternal death in half in five years . The Solutions exist.

What's missing is action. The time is now.