I am most inspired by the families and moms who meet with us to share how they want to transform maternal healthcare. While it may not be crystal clear, maternal healthcare is a POC driven feminist movement to take back maternal healthcare as ours. Women of color would birth and support one another in communities and were the matriarchs of the family, and over time, and in modern politics, our power to be matriarchs was destroyed. Moms, birthing people are the crux of the future and if we can change how healthcare is delivered, we will naturally create and promote healthier families, babies and moms!

The Maternal Coalition believes that all birthing people should have access to just and equitable healthcare. Our work is multifaceted but rooted in transforming the healthcare systems so they are equitable, and focused on the populations they are serving. We have a wide range of partners we work with from social service, and community-based organizations to the managed care organizations (insurers) serving the Medicaid population in Washington state.

We start our work in any county, by holding listening and learning sessions from moms, families, providers, and birth workers to hear real stories and develop a strategy with the focus of the community. Secondly, we partner directly with the healthcare centers and work with them to transform their care delivery models. This includes introducing better assessment tools and referral pathways, schedule adjustments and extending of appointment times, and, workflow optimization that helps with better billing techniques that not only benefit the health system but the families they serve as well. Finally, we have heard from multiple birth workers the need for more trained perinatal roles. With every health clinic we work with, we are training and staffing community health workers, a perinatal support specialist that supports a family or mom the moment they find out they are pregnant to two years post-partum. The role triages and interfaces with the doctor, and helps the family navigate our already complex healthcare system.