Achievable Maternal Health Goals for Texas

These healthcare goals are achievable through advocacy and your generous support:

1. Expand Access to Equitable Maternal Care

Ensure every pregnant and postpartum person in Texas—especially those in rural, uninsured, or underinsured communities—has access to timely, high-quality maternal healthcare services.

2. Advance Doula and Behavioral Health Integration

Promote Medicaid reimbursement for doula training and increase access to perinatal mental health services. Expand training for behavioral health providers to better support maternal well-being.

3. Promote Safe, Respectful, and Culturally Responsive Care

Partner with healthcare facilities and providers to implement bias training, cultural competence education, and evidence-based protocols like the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) guidelines for high-risk pregnancies.

4. Strengthen Screening and Support Systems

Increase routine screening and referrals for perinatal depression, domestic violence, and behavioral health needs—beginning at the first prenatal visit through postpartum and well-baby care. Support home-visiting programs and peer-to-peer support models.

5. Elevate Maternal Health Equity Awareness

Raise public awareness about racial and geographic disparities, including Texas maternity care deserts. Use outreach campaigns to build momentum for systemic change.

6. Support Paid Family Leave and Medicaid Expansion

Advocate for policy changes that expand Medicaid postpartum coverage and require paid family leave to ensure all Texas families can access critical maternal healthcare and bonding time.

7. Foster Provider Accountability and Practice Reform

Encourage regular training and updated standards of care across medical institutions. Support the development of statewide cultural competence curriculum benchmarks in Texas medical schools.

8. Advance Community-Centered Data and Transparency

Advocate for improved maternal mortality data collection and bipartisan legislative support for surveillance. Integrate community storytelling and lived experience into data analysis and public reporting to humanize disparities and shape effective policy.

9. Build Statewide Maternal Health Partnerships

Form sustainable partnerships with community-based organizations, healthcare providers, academic institutions, and public health agencies to drive innovation and reduce disparities.

10. Empower Mothers Through Advocacy and Education

Promote self-advocacy skills and provide education tools that empower mothers to confidently navigate the maternal healthcare system—especially those most at risk of poor outcomes.