Statistics, Events & News
Maternal Health in DC
Explore the maternal health landscape in DC with the latest information on policy, funding opportunities, digital health innovation and initiatives to address maternal health challenges in the District of Columbia.
Context & Facts about
DC Maternal Health
One of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the US, especially for Black mothers
30.7/100K maternal deaths compared to national average of 23.5/100K
Black mothers make up half of births, but 90% of birth-related deaths in DC
Health Equity Challenges
49% of DC's Black residents live in medically underserved areas compared to 21% across neighboring Maryland and Virginia
Wards 7 & 8 constitute a maternity care desert the areas with the highest concentration of Black residents, with the only hospital serving the region closing its obstetric ward in 2017
23% of DC mothers receive inadequate prenatal care compared to national average of 15.5%
Non-Clinical Risks and Social Health Determinants
80% of DC health outcomes related to social health determinants compared to 20% related to clinical care
Maternal vulnerability in the District of Columbia is heavily weighted to mental health and substance use disorder.
View the Recording
Webinar: Innovation in Women's Health
View the webinar recording of Babyscripts' discussion with GW-MFA on innovation in women's health.
View RecordingView the Recording
Webinar: Health Equity in Obstetrics
View the webinar recording of Babyscripts' discussion with MedStar Washington Hospital Center on implementing digital health initiatives for diverse populations.
A History of Innovation in the District of Columbia
A DC-based company, Babyscripts has a long history of partnership, research and advocacy in the District of Columbia.
MedStar Health launched their Safe Moms Safe Babies Initiative with Babyscripts programming, initially funded with a grant from the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation.
As a part of this initiative, MedStar Health used Babyscripts to understand patient barriers to utilizing WIC, a resource to address food insecurity. They used Babyscripts to survey patients, as well as surface information about WIC and connect eligible patients to the resource.
Read more: Babyscripts & MedStar Health Address Food Insecurity Through Digital WIC Assessment
In the urban maternity care desert of DC, access to care is one of the biggest challenges. Babyscripts has enabled some DC providers to supplement in-person care delivery and overcome access barriers.
Dr. Kathryn Marko, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, said the [Babyscripts] technology has helped reduce the need for office visits for some patients, freeing capacity in her practice for people who need in-person interventions.
‘We now have the capacity to schedule them more readily,’ she added.
GW-MFA, an urban academic medical center in DC, is a long time research and strategic partner of Babyscripts.
Most recently, a pilot program for maternal mental health improvement deployed at GW-MFA demonstrated a four-fold improvement in adherence to mental health screening in the prenatal period, addressing one of the primary contributors to DC’s poor maternal health outcomes.
In conjunction with a grant awarded by Mayor Muriel Bowser and acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) Nina Albert, Babyscripts developed an enterprise platform to gain meaningful insights to improve patient care, services, and outcomes.
Through improved reporting and data collection, Babyscripts supports equitable care delivery across DC's diverse patient populations, capturing social health determinant data and targeting racial disparities in outcomes.
From our DC Partners
Read more maternal health news coming out of Washington DC
Expert insights: challenges & benefits of maternal risk identification
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Why patient-centric care is critical for outcomes (and what it really means)
Research and Innovation in Women’s Services: A Perspective from GW-MFA on Virtual Care, COVID-19 and Beyond
Better risk identification is not a solution to the maternal health crisis - but it might be a piece of one.
Innovation, Advocacy, and Maternal Care: Bringing New Life to DC's Maternal Care Desert
Opportunities for Funding
In 2020, the DC Council passed the Postpartum Coverage Expansion Act, which includes a digital health reimbursement mandate proposed and drafted by Babyscripts. The mandate requires Medicaid and the D.C. Healthcare Alliance to provide coverage for home visits via telehealth for pregnant women and to provide coverage for provider-delivered digital health interventions such as remote patient monitoring, patient engagement services, and social determinant screening services.
A new initiative out of CMS to support SMAs offers promising opportunities for reimbursement (read more). Medicaid in the District of Columbia does not currently reimburse for RPM.
Looking for tools to improve maternal health outcomes?
Learn more about our maternity care program for pregnant and postpartum patients.