Confronting the Maternal Health Crisis: Voices from the Front Lines

As part of our partnerships with funders such as the New Jersey Birth Equity Alliance and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we have welcomed many nonprofit organizations focused on advancing maternal health equity in the Resilia community. To facilitate collaboration and learning among these vital groups, we recently hosted a webinar, "Equitable Maternal Health: Navigating Pregnancy, Empowering Families, & Collaborative Change." Convening our nonprofit partners in the maternal health space allowed for powerful shared insights and discussion of community-driven solutions to address America's maternal mortality crisis.

The panelists brought a wealth of experience and perspectives, including:

• Dr. Nastassia Harris, Founder and Executive Director of the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative

• Toshira Maldonado, Executive Director of Most Beautiful W.O.M.B Inc.

• Cecile Edwards, Senior Manager at the New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance

Their conversation shed light on critical strategies for addressing systemic gaps in care, centering community voices, and fostering cross-sector collaboration to improve outcomes.

The Vital Role of Collaboration

One overarching theme was the vital role of collaboration in driving progress. As Cecile Edwards explained, "Collaboration is going to move us further and faster." She highlighted how nurses, doctors, doulas, midwives, social workers, lactation consultants, and community organizations each play an essential role across the continuum of care. "All of these professionals should be coming together and working together to ensure that what is best for the families is being done not only in the family's home but also in the hospital and the systems of care," she emphasized.

Toshira Maldonado expanded on the urgency of collaborative approaches grounded in "cultural humility" to counter care disparities. She stated, “It’s not just what collaboration can do for those serving us, but it’s about us — the affected communities. It’s for us, it’s by us.” Building networks and systems using an anti-racist approach is necessary to overcome the inequities that drive higher mortality among women of color.

Dr. Harris affirmed the value of interdisciplinary collaboration that bridges gaps in maternal care, noting that at hospitals, "there is a disconnect and a drop off from when families are in the hospital and when they enter into the community" after discharge. Her organization addresses this by connecting families to community health workers, lactation consultants, support groups, and other local resources for the vulnerable postpartum period.

Elevating Community Voices

The panelists stressed engaging community voices in developing initiatives. As Maldonado stated, “Having a Black doctor is not enough. Having practitioners who are Black is not enough. It’s having practitioners, doulas, social workers, and lactation professionals all working together to build trusted systems of care and accountability.” She noted families need support in understanding their full range of maternal care options. 

This care must be tailored to the cultural, social, and economic realities they face. Otherwise, even well-intentioned programs will fail to reach those most at risk. The panel also discussed postpartum care and establishing trusted support systems. Speakers noted fatal complications often happen after hospital discharge, underscoring the need for follow-up care and support. Informing families about local postpartum resources is essential, as is helping new mothers navigate trauma and judgment compounded by broader inequities. Providing meals, childcare, lactation consulting, and other practical community assistance can help alleviate the burden on postpartum families.

While access to quality medical care is crucial, the panel emphasized dismantling structural racism within healthcare and society. Dr. Harris shared a troubling example where dangerous misinformation from a prejudiced obstetrician could have proved fatal for a Black patient. She stressed rigorously following up on such incidents and pushing for hospital policy changes to prevent similar negligence and promote evidence-based care. "We need to return to the source and provide reeducation,” she urged.

Building Nonprofit Capacity

The panelists offered insights into how funders and nonprofits can work together to impact maternal health inequities directly. Ms. Edwards emphasized the importance of trust-based philanthropy and participatory grantmaking that engages with communities authentically. She also noted that supporting operational growth is key, so organizations can qualify for larger grants that drive systemic change.

Dr. Harris shared how unrestricted, multi-year grants from foundations like Resilia partner Robert Wood Johnson have allowed her organization to expand its programs, staff, and budget exponentially. She also advised funders to evaluate whether their application requirements and reporting demands could be more manageable for small nonprofits on the front lines: mitigating burdensome reporting is essential to trust-based philanthropic practices.

Maldonado stressed that grassroots organizations need funders to value their vital work and provide flexible resources to sustain it. She urged collaborative problem-solving between funders and grantees, stating, “We need the money. We don't necessarily need you to micromanage us.”

In summarizing lessons, Dr. Harris said, “Black women have the answer. We may not always have the resources to implement those answers, but we have the answers.”

Resilia's Commitment to Maternal Health Equity

Resilia supports organizations like Most Beautiful W.O.M.B. Inc. and the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative with capacity-building resources that amplify their critical missions. When philanthropy chooses to invest in nonprofit leadership and solutions that originate within communities, we can drive collaborative change that empowers families and saves lives.  There are no easy fixes to solving America's maternal health crisis. But by listening to the voices of the most affected and empowering changemakers with the resources they need, we can advance health equity and create lasting social change.