Lawmakers push to address help for Georgia mothers

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Lawmakers, advocates, and supporters met outside at Liberty Plaza to recognize Maternal Health Awareness Day. They reflected on the work they’ve done in the past and what still needs to be done to protect pregnant mothers and their children.

The crowd chanted women need healthcare. Ky Lindberg is the CEO of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. The group works to improve access to healthcare for women in Georgia.

“The legislature has prioritized several priorities like the maternal postpartum Medicaid expansion, maternal autopsies, and several others, but there is more work to be done,” said Lindberg.

The Georgia Department of Health reports 22.7 out of 100,000 white women die during childbirth, that number triples for black mothers.

Democrat Marvin Lim believes that the General Assembly needs to provide more funding to areas of Georgia where women might not have access to obstetric care.

“The problem we know is not as easy as snapping our fingers, but by allocating more funding. Metro areas like Atlanta, but also many of the rural areas. Statistics show that half of the counties half of them rural, don’t have an OBGYN,” said Lim.

House Republican Sharon Cooper pushed to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. Now her focus is on mental healthcare to support a mother after birth.

“Along with a year’s coverage, it came with more money, $20 million. To make sure we dont lose one mother, and that all babies get here as safely as possible to start their lives,” said Cooper.

The state created the Maternal Mortality Review Committee in 2013, which collects maternal death data to try to address inequities in the state.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.