How will we improve maternal health data collection in 2022?

Accurate, reliable data allow us to fully understand the health of perinatal people and their babies. Especially with the pandemic’s impact on maternal health, data are critical in providing a robust understanding of the support needed by birthing persons. Unfortunately, the current patchwork system of funding data collection is jeopardizing our understanding of maternal health outcomes in our state. More than ever before, we need these data to inform our policy solutions, work toward more equitable maternal health outcomes, and ultimately create a state where all birthing persons and their children have the resources they need to thrive.    

Today’s episode of The West Steps features a first-ever conversation on maternal health data collection in Colorado. We are joined by Sarah Hughes, Vice President for Research Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Susan Hwang, neonatologist and health services researcher at Children’s Hospital Colorado; and Erin Miller, Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign. The discussion opens up with the importance of collecting data about birthing people and children, as well as the primary means for data collection in our state. By establishing a well-funded, robust data surveillance system, we can better measure systems change in the maternal health landscape. Though our state and nation face a maternal mortality crisis, we are hopeful that we can make strides in changing that during the 2022 legislative session. Cover All Coloradans – a recently introduced bill – not only aims to provide better health care to individuals across the state, it also includes a more reliable funding stream for one of the state’s best programs for collecting maternal health data— the Health eMoms survey.  

If you are interested in participating in advocacy efforts for Cover All Coloradans, or want to learn more about the bill, contact Erin Miller at erin@coloradokids.org. Look for more updates on Cover All Coloradans in our weekly KidsFlash newsletter. Subscribe today!