Our Work > Advocacy
It takes a village - and we're building one.
With the support and groundwork of birth equity advocates in our network, we fight for fair pay for birth workers, reproductive justice, and sustainable communities for future generations.
Fair Pay For
Birth Workers
Sustainability and fair pay are critical to support ongoing, quality care that advances maternal
and child health. We use evidence-based practices and team expertise to build sustainable models that improve birth outcomes, breastfeeding rates, and economic mobility for community members.
The HealthConnect One Sustainability Pathway for Perinatal Community Health Workers supports trainees and trainee organizations in sustaining programs that help families and improve outcomes.
Birth Equity
Leadership Academy
The Birth Equity Leadership Academy (BELA) is a national network focused on birth equity and centering community voices. Our first cohort of BELA participants came from 27 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Our Advocacy Approach
We call for policies that promote community-based, peer-to-peer support.
HealthConnect One is working at federal and state levels to:
- Raise public awareness regarding the value of community-based, peer-to-peer support and its evidence-based outcomes.
- Incorporate community-based doulas and breastfeeding peer counselors into government-supported home visiting programs.
- Enable community health centers to serve patients beyond the clinic walls through community-based doulas and breastfeeding peer counselors.
- Ensure services provided by qualified community-based doulas and breastfeeding peer counselors are reimbursed by public and private insurance at an appropriate rate in every state.
Birth Equity
Action Network
We created the Birth Equity Action Network (BEAN) in 2020 to provide a platform for birth workers to share stories and take action. This network is a movement of CHWs, doulas, and lactation specialists from 50+ organizations who amplify the voices and needs of birthing families in marginalized communities.
260
birth equity advocates and activists joined our Birth Equity Action Network in 2021.
35+
letters, statements, and action alerts supporting legislation to advance maternal and child health in 2021.
Policy Initiatives:
Community to Congress
We take positions on issues of importance to maternal and child health and educate legislators and regulators at the local, state, and federal levels on issues related to birth equity, maternal mortality, and perinatal health.
Active Legislation and Sign-Ons
HealthConnect One is proud to endorse the historic Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. Our communities make the US stronger, and supporting birth equity makes Black communities stronger. The House package is co-led by Congresswoman Alma Adams and is composed of twelve bills - the nine from last year plus three new titles - that are led by different members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus.
Recently, HealthConnect signed-on to a letter to the 116th Congress in support of the FAMILY Act. The FAMILY Act, would create a national paid family and medical leave insurance program. The program would provide working Americans with up to twelve weeks of paid time off to address their own serious health issue, including pregnancy or childbirth; to deal with the serious health issue of a family member; to care for a new child; and for certain military caregiving and leave purposes.
HealthConnect One recently signed on to a letter calling for the protection of funding for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) which houses the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO). MomsRising states "DNPAO supports critical initiatives that promote breastfeeding, healthy eating, and physical activity. These programs provide communities with the tools they need to thrive and help prevent chronic diseases before they begin."
Past Legislation and Sign-Ons
We joined the BMMA in a joint statement with other organizations about reports of forced hysterectomies on ICE detainees at the Irwin Detention Center, privately owned and operated by LaSalle Corrections. This attack on incarcerated Black and Brown bodies is part of a long history of policies and programs inflicting violence and harm on migrants and immigrants seeking refuge, safety and opportunity in this country. Forced hysterectomies and the calculated sterilization of those incarcerated by ICE is another attempt to control who has children and who can make decisions about their reproduction.
HealthConnect One recently signed on to a letter from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee calling for an increase in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget for their breastfeeding program to be increased to $20 million.
See the letter here.
HealthConnect One recently signed on to a letter demanding for the disbanding of the National Doula Credentialing Board, a white-led organization aiming to medicalize and profit off of doulas nationwide. To read the full letter, click here.
We joined the National WIC Association in a joint statement on supporting the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during COVID-19.
As part of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee-Affiliated COVID-19 Infant & Young Child Feeding Constellation, we helped call for ALL involved in the response to COVID-19 pandemic to equitably protect, promote, and support the feeding and care of infants and young children and their caregivers.
In May, we joined the March for Moms and Every Mother Counts in a letter to Congress encouraging bipartisan efforts to ensure that pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum people are supported during the COVID-19 pandemic, by extending pregnancy-related Medicaid to one year postpartum, making virtual prenatal and postpartum care and remote monitoring available, and improving access to midwives, community birth, community-based doulas, peer childbirth educators, and peer counselors.
In April we joined Families USA in writing to Congress to encourage them to build on past bipartisan efforts and ensure equitable access to testing and treatment for COVID-19, protect and support the health workforce on the frontlines and protect against high and unexpected health care costs.
In March we joined AMCHP in a letter for The Title V MCH Block Grant which is a cost-effective, accountable, and flexible funding source used to address the most critical, pressing, and unique needs of maternal and child health populations in each state, territory, and jurisdiction of the United States.
In January HealthConnect One signed onto a letter by The United States Breastfeeding Committee to support and ensure employees have reasonable break time and a private place to pump during the work day. However, nearly one in four women of childbearing age are excluded from coverage and have no clear right to break time and space.
HealthConnect One has signed on to a letter supporting the American Rescue Act. As health care advocates working to advance health coverage, affordability, and equitable access for all people, we are encouraged that Congress is taking these steps to ensure that everyone in this country can afford the health coverage we need to beat COVID-19 and deliver relief and recovery to all of America's families.
HealthConnect One has signed on to a letter to the HHS Acting Secretary and CMS Acting Administrator urging swift approval of pending section 1115 demonstration projects aimed at extending postpartum Medicaid coverage. Specifically, the letter encourages the Biden Admin to work with states to extend comprehensive Medicaid coverage to a full year after the end of pregnancy regardless of health condition.
Recently, HealthConnect signed on to a letter by FamiliesUSA. The letter urges the Biden Administration and 117th Congress to prioritize COVID-19 relief and the health care policies needed to truly turn the tide of the pandemic. It urges the Biden Administration and Congress to ensure those policy proposals advanced in the coming months adhere to the following principles: Every child, every family, every individual in this country must have access to high-quality, affordable health care and shouldn't face financial ruin if they need care. Our health should not depend on our wealth. The health care system must be reformed to center patients' and families' needs, not profits for huge health corporations that leave consumers footing the bill.
As our country grapples with pandemic-related challenges and the movement toward racial and social justice, the time is now to support and advance outcomes that build healthy communities. Communities of color are suffering during this pandemic, we must ensure that they are properly vaccinated. As such Health Connect One supports the Community Immunity During COVID-19 Act.
HealthConnect One has signed-on to a letter with leading national, state, and local organizations in urging the Biden transition team and incoming Biden Administration to take bold and immediate action to address the country's urgent health and health equity needs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently HealthConnect One signed-on to a letter to the HHS Acting Secretary and CMS Acting Administrator urging swift approval of pending section 1115 demonstration projects aimed at extending postpartum Medicaid coverage. Specifically, the letter encourages the Biden Admin to work with states to extend comprehensive Medicaid coverage to a full year after the end of pregnancy regardless of health condition.
Taking Action for Birth Justice
Project
Medicaid Reimbursement Storybook
HealthConnect One will develop a storybook from the doula perspective focused on doula reimbursement/salary stability and all the benefits of doula support in the communities where we work.
Stay Tuned for Updates
Project
Sustainable Funding for Doula Programs: A Study
HealthConnect One commissioned TRP Health Policy (TRP), a nationally recognized bipartisan policy firm, to research potential sustainable funding streams, policy opportunities, and strategies for sustaining community-based doula services.
Read the Case Study
Project
Creating Policy for Equitable Doula Access
As attention to maternal mortality rates increases, so has a movement toward legislative approaches to address the issue. One such area gaining state and national attention is coverage for doula services as a way to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
Read the Issue Brief