Rural Maternal Health – Resources

Maternal Characteristics and Infant Outcomes in Appalachia and the Delta
Compares maternal characteristics and poor infant outcomes for women and children in the Delta and Appalachia regions with the rest of the United States. Includes charts showing distribution of births, preterm births, and infant mortality with data broken down by maternal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and age.
Additional links: Supplemental Tables
Author(s): Anne Driscoll, Danielle Ely
Citation: National Vital Statistics Reports, 68(11)
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Improving Access to Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities
Highlights the issues affecting access to healthcare for women in rural communities before, during, and after pregnancy. Demonstrates the need for national, state, and community organizations to work together to develop a plan to improve access to care and the outcomes for rural women and their babies.
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Overcoming Racial Disparities and Social Determinants in the Maternal Mortality Crisis
Provides testimonies and the recording of a hearing before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on disparities in maternal mortality. Discusses disparities by race and geographic location, social determinants of health, challenges in rural access to obstetrics, and potential steps for action. Includes testimony from the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Maternal Mortality Projects Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Health, and others.
Additional links: Lisa Hollier Testimony, Loren Robinson Testimony, Melanie Rouse Testimony, Patrice Harris Testimony, American Medical Association, Video Recording
Date: 05/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Rural Health Research Recap: State of Rural Women's Healthcare Utilization and Health Indicators
Summarizes rural and urban statistics describing health indicators and healthcare utilization for women, maternal and obstetric healthcare services, and maternal substance use. Includes information regarding barriers to accessing care.
Author(s): Shawnda Schroeder
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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HRSA Maternal Mortality Summit: Promising Global Practices to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes Technical Report
Compiles key findings from a three-day summit, Promising Global Practices to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes, that includes reports, presentations, discussion, and other resources to improve maternal health outcomes from experts in the field. Provides an overview of maternal health, morbidity, and mortality in the United States. Covers the limited access to obstetric healthcare services women living in rural areas face.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Increasing Access to Contraception: Rural Health
Offers strategies and best practices to address identified challenges and barriers to increasing access to contraception and related healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Access to Rural Maternity Care
Policy paper describing obstetric care for rural women in the U.S. Covers challenges to providing access to rural maternity care, such as healthcare quality, birth outcomes, workforce shortages, access, and financial challenges. Includes discussion on policy alternatives and considerations to address workforce issues, barriers to practicing obstetrics in rural areas, and increasing access to maternity care services.
Author(s): Britta Anderson, Adam Gingery, Maeve McClellan, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Focus and Representation in State Maternal Mortality Review Committees: Review of Policy and Legislation
An assessment of the extent of rural representation in state policy efforts related to improving maternal health through the development of maternal mortality and morbidity review committees (MMRCs). Analysis included whether or not states established an MMRC, had passed legislation requiring an MMRC, identified rural populations in the legislation, and if they required rural representation within the MMRC.
Author(s): Katy B. Kozhimannil, Julia D. Interrante, Amanda Corbet, et al.
Citation: Women's Health Issues 299(5) 357-363
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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Infant Mortality Rates in Rural and Urban Areas in the United States, 2014
Reports on infant mortality in 2014 among rural, small and medium urban, and large urban counties. Includes data by infant age at death for neonatal (0-27 days) and postneonatal (28-364 days) deaths. Provides infant mortality data by mother's age and by mother's race for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers.
Author(s): Danielle M. Ely, Anne K. Driscoll, T.J. Mathews
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Rural Policy Implications for Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visitation Program
Summarizes the benefits of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program for rural communities and how home visiting programs can dramatically improve the lives of mothers and their children who live in at-risk communities. Discusses challenges for including rural communities in state programs and meeting the evaluation requirements; provides recommendations to address these challenges.
Date: 09/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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