How better benefits can support maternal health awareness day

On January 23, we recognize Maternal Health Awareness Day. It’s a day that we focus on the state of maternal health in the U.S. and how organizations can support both current and expecting mothers.

In the U.S. at least, there is a significant gap between the care mothers and expectant mothers typically receive and what they should expect.

Across broad swaths of our country, millions of women are simply unable to receive maternal care. In fact, over 2.2 million women who are within typical childbearing years are located in what experts call maternity care deserts. Maternity care deserts are defined as a county that doesn’t have hospitals that provide obstetric care, birth centers, OBGYNs, or certified nurse-midwives.

In addition, more than 13 million people have lost Medicaid coverage due to coverage ending for the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a systemic lack of prenatal care which is used to identify and treat potential complications.

These alarming numbers show how limited maternal care is in one of the most developed countries in the world.

Racial disparities in maternal care

While many don’t have access to critical care, other figures point to significant disparities based on the race of the prospective or current mother. For example, Black and Indigenous women have maternal mortality rates that are 2 to 3 times more than that of white women.

The key drivers of those outcomes have been known for some time and aren’t moving. Black and Indigenous women often suffer due to unequal access to high-quality health care. When they are able to get health care, structural racism and bias create outcomes that are measurably worse than patients of other races. The inequities in our health care system are heavily influenced by Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), which drive stress, sleep loss, housing conditions, nutrition, transportation availability, and exposure to environmental toxins.

Influence beyond mothers

Of course, regardless of the cause, the poor state of maternal health for millions of Americans has a cascading effect beyond just individual mothers. It impacts the wellbeing of future generations, perpetuating structural and social inequities, while creating decades of impact that can’t be reversed.

Maternal Health Awareness Day offers us an opportunity to reflect on the impact of maternal care. As you can see, the U.S. still has a long way to go before we can say that we are doing women justice.

Beyond reflection, it’s also an opportunity for organizations to act and support maternal care for the good of their employees, communities, and humanity as a whole.

Stronger benefits that bridge gaps in care

So what can organizations do to improve maternal health for their employees?

Some employers have done the basics. They offer strong maternity leave policies, with a combination of paid and unpaid leave, that supplement leave laws already on the books at the federal and state levels. Other employers offer flexible work arrangements that help expecting mothers get the care they need and help mothers coming off the birth of a baby transition back into a new way of working. Affinity groups at work for new and expecting mothers can help drive connection and belonging in the workplace as well.

Organizations also need to lean into the individual challenges of their employees as well. Every mother has unique needs and gaps in care before, during, and after their pregnancy. It can feel almost impossible to offer the right combination of care to meet the diverse needs of employees.

Lifestyle Spending Accounts (or LSAs) are an important way companies can give personal support to new and expectant mothers. An LSA is an employer-funded account that enables employees to apply post- or pre-tax dollars toward the benefits they love (or need) the most.

LSAs provide much-needed flexibility and personalization that can supplement and support traditional benefits. Covered benefits can include funding pre-birth, birth, and postpartum doula or midwife services. It can also be used for nursing and lactation support that complements what employers already offer mothers in the office. It can be used to support nursing mothers when they are away from home with breast milk delivery as well.

LSAs also offer flexible ways to support women returning to work. It can be used to supplement daycare, in-home care, or a nanny as well. For those working from home, it can support ergonomics or sleep support to help new mothers get comfortable in their new routines.

Ultimately, an LSA can provide an important bridge between the benefits an organization offers and the needs that might otherwise go uncovered.

Related: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Now in effect, but does it offer enough protection?

A flexible way to support maternal health

Maternal Health Awareness Day is an important time to consider how an organization supports new and expectant mothers. Given the unique needs of every new (or not-so-new) mother, LSAs offer organizations a more precise way to support them before, during, and after the birth of a child.

Organizations can offer better maternal care support, which also creates a more supportive environment for all employees. The impact of maternal care also contributes to more caring, healthy, and supported communities as a whole as well.