The Maternal Health Crisis Is Not a Trend

Turning Awareness Into Action for Mothers and Babies

Maternal Health care has entered the digital spotlight! In today’s digital world, almost everything is filtered through the lens of social media trends from fashion and food to social justice and healthcare. It’s simply the world we live in. 

In recent years, maternal health has become more visible. This rise in visibility is important and long overdue. But awareness alone is not enough. But let’s be clear: maternal health is not a trend. It’s a national emergency, and no viral campaign, or celebrity soundbite will fix it without real, structural change. 

April invites us into a season of awareness for maternal health, with Black Maternal Health Week reminding us that disparities are not new and neither is the need for action. 

The next step after awareness is accountability, and accountability must look like reform. Real change happens not when we simply acknowledge a crisis, but when we respond to it with sustained action, policy shifts, and investment in the systems that support mothers and babies. Trends die fast. Mothers should not. 

Too often, the urgency surrounding pregnancy and postpartum care gets diluted into short-lived moments of attention. But this crisis doesn’t pause when the headlines fade and it doesn’t end for the women who live through it or for those who don’t make it out alive. 

This Is Not a Hashtag, It’s a Life-or-Death Reality 

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries, and it does not seem to be decreasing. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Single mothers, like many in our Solo Stork community, face even greater risks due to limited support, economic stress, and systemic neglect. 

Too many women are told their pain is “normal.” Too many are sent home with life-threatening conditions misdiagnosed or ignored. Too many are navigating pregnancy alone in a healthcare system not built for them. 

And when mothers die, families fracture. Communities hurt. Futures are stolen. 

Why Protecting Mothers and Babies Must Be a National Priority 

1. Healthy Moms = Healthy Babies:  A mother’s well-being directly impacts her child’s. Conditions like postpartum preeclampsia, mental health disorders, and breastfeeding challenges don’t just affect one person, they affect entire households. 

2. Mothers Build Communities:  Mothers carry more than babies, they carry families, culture, and the future. Neglecting maternal health is not just a healthcare issue, it’s a societal failure. 

3. The Crisis Doesn’t End at Birth:  Many maternal deaths happen after delivery, especially in the postpartum period. Women are sent home with little to no follow-up care, while navigating hormonal changes, potential medical complications, and sleep deprivation, often alone. 

4. Single Moms Deserve Safety and Support:

---

  For single mothers, isolation and stigma are often compounded by lack of support and diagnostic dismissal Protecting single moms is not charity, it’s justice. 

What Needs to Change 

To truly address the maternal health crisis, we must move beyond surface-level awareness and commit to deep, structural change. This includes policies, funding, care models, and accountability across the entire perinatal experience, from pregnancy through the postpartum year. Here's what that looks like: 

1. Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage:  Maternal health does not end at delivery. Postpartum Medicaid must be extended to at least 12 months nationwide, ensuring women have consistent access to care during this critical period. 

2. Guarantee Comprehensive Postpartum Support:  All mothers should have access to doulas, lactation consultants, pelvic floor therapists, and postpartum follow-up care. These services should not be considered luxury care but standard practice. 

3. Expand Midwifery Care:  Studies show that midwifery care leads to fewer unnecessary cesarean sections and better birth outcomes. Increasing access to midwives, especially in underserved communities, can help lower maternal and infant mortality rates. 

4. Fund Maternal Health Research:  We need targeted funding for research that explores how to improve pregnancy and postpartum outcomes. This includes research focused on racial disparities, social determinants of health, and innovative care delivery models. 

5. Increase Postpartum Visits:  One six-week check-up is not enough. Without being overwhelming, mothers need a structured schedule of postpartum visits that reflect the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges of the year after birth. Early intervention saves lives. 

6. Build Stronger Care Coordination:  Too often, mothers fall through the cracks after leaving their OB or hospital. Mental health care, primary care, and postpartum care are rarely coordinated, leaving women to navigate complex systems on their own.  We must require systems that automatically connect mothers with mental health professionals and community-based services before they leave their provider’s office. 

7. Hold Institutions Accountable:  Hospitals and health systems must be held accountable for preventable maternal deaths. This means transparent reporting, mandatory case reviews, and enforceable safety protocols. 

8. Provide Respectful, Culturally Competent Care:  Black, brown, and single mothers continue to report experiences of being dismissed or mistreated during pregnancy and birth. All providers should be trained in respectful care, free of bias or judgment. 

9. Invest in Community-Based Support Programs:  Grassroots and community organizations are often the first line of support for mothers. Public funding should support programs that offer wraparound services, peer mentorship, maternal mental health resources, and educational support. 

How You Can Help Today 

Support Maternal Health Legislation:  Visit Every Mother Counts to learn about active bills and contact your representatives to push for real change. 

Join the Movement:  Follow us at solostork.com and on social media. Share this blog post. Talk to your networks. If you have experienced poor care or discrimination during pregnancy or postpartum, your voice matters. Email us at contact@solostork.com to share your story for upcoming advocacy efforts. 

Support a Mom in Your Life:  Whether it is a meal, a ride to a doctor’s appointment, or simply checking in, small actions make a life-saving difference. 

The Bottom Line 

Mothers should not have to be researchers, advocates, and care coordinators just to survive the postpartum period. The systems that claim to protect them must be reimagined and rebuilt to reflect what mothers actually need, not just what insurance companies are willing to cover. 

Trends may shine a temporary light, but they do not build lasting safety. The maternal health crisis is not content. It is real. It is personal. And it is preventable. 

At Solo Stork, we are committed to being part of that change by advocating for policies and practices that center mothers, especially those navigating pregnancy and motherhood on their own. We are not waiting for permission to speak up. We are already leading.