Cindy Krischer Goodman
(Source South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
As birth rates drop and infant deaths rise, Florida women are speaking out to keep more babies alive.
Advocates across Florida are holding rallies, conferences and awareness events for Black Maternal Health Week to stop preventable deaths of babies and mothers.
On Tuesday, they took their rallying cries to Tallahassee to ask lawmakers to address Florida’s infant and maternal health crisis, calling it “a public health emergency.”
For Birth Justice Day at the Capitol, maternal health advocates are asking Florida lawmakers to make changes to increase the chances of better birth outcomes. They want lawmakers to allocate sustainable funding for doula services, recognize and license midwives of color, invest in culturally affirming birth worker training programs, and pass laws to protect birthing people against obstetric violence.
More than 270 Florida women died during or immediately after childbirth in the last five years, reflecting a statewide maternal mortality rate mirroring the rest of the country. Pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. have been rising over the last decade.
The state’s infant death rate for the last five years exceeded the national average, with an average of six deaths per 1,000 births, compared to the U.S. average of 5.6 deaths. In Florida, Black infants died at about twice the rate as white infants. Advocates say many of the deaths were preventable.
“Community-based doulas and midwives are proven to reduce birth trauma and death. We need lawmakers to listen to us, fund us, and work with us to build a future where all families thrive,” said Cortes Maria Lewis James, outreach coordinator of Southern Birth Justice Network.
Jamarah Amani, executive director of Southern Birth Justice Network, said her organization met with 40 legislators or their aides this week. “We were able to educate them about midwives and doulas and why both are important and why supporting legislation to make them more accessible in Florida will make a difference in maternal health,” she said.
Broward moms need help
In Broward County, more than 450 health providers and maternal health advocates gathered last week at the 2025 Maternal & Child Health Conference hosted by Broward Healthy Start Coalition, the state’s largest event of its kind. The discussion included how to help women who face barriers to contraception, how to curb high rates of maternal sexually transmitted infections, and how to boost the rates of prenatal care.
Data on maternal health released at the conference shows not enough Broward County women are getting prenatal care. Within the county, roughly 60% of women had early and adequate prenatal care. The national goal Broward County wants to attain is 80.5% by 2030.
The data also shows the need for targeted maternal care for Black and Haitian women. That demographic in Broward County experienced fetal loss at rates 3 times higher than white and Hispanic women and infant deaths at rates more than 2.5 times higher.
“There are more than 22,000 births in this county every year. It’s a big number,” said Monica Figueroa King, CEO of the Broward Healthy Start Coalition. “It’s a very diverse community of many cultures and so we have a lot of stories … stories of women who struggle to have their voices heard. We want to figure out what we can do so there’s much better communication and our moms are being heard.”
King said poor birth outcomes reflect the need for more community action.
“If the health of our infants in our community is not what we want it to be, then we have a problem,” she said. “When we invest in maternal and child health, we prevent long-term complications and reduce the burden on our healthcare system.”
To recognize Black Maternal Health Week, Memorial Healthcare System will hold an event on Thursday in Hollywood for 135 expectant or new mothers, many of whom face barriers to care. Memorial’s Family Birthplace has created a specialty as a high-risk epicenter for moms experiencing complex pregnancy conditions. At the event, Memorial is offering education to improve infant health such as car seat safety, safe sleep methods, infant CPR and postpartum blood pressure monitoring for new mothers.
“There are obstetrical deserts in our own backyard, and rebuilding trust starts with acknowledging this truth,” said Dr. Terri-Ann Bennett, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Memorial. “The healthcare community must do more than provide care; we must listen, partner, and act.”
Bennett said Memorial Healthcare System is working to improve birth outcomes through strategies that include remote patient monitoring to support high-risk pregnancies at home, strengthening collaboration between maternal-fetal medicine specialists and community OBs, and launching joint initiatives with Broward Health to address disparities in maternal and infant care across the county.
To lower the risk of mothers dying after childbirth, staff at nine Emergency Departments across Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare system were trained or retrained to identify preeclampsia in pregnant and postpartum women. Preeclampsia can progress rapidly to life-threatening complications for both mother and baby.
Florida needs more healthcare for moms
Throughout Florida, women are driving long distances for maternity care, often showing up at hospitals having never seen a doctor.
A March of Dimes report identified an increasing problem with maternal healthcare deserts in Florida.
Last year, Broward HealthPoint, an affiliate of Broward Health, partnered with Community Care Plan to launch the Maternity Care & Heart Community Resource Center in Lauderdale Lakes. The center has been addressing the lack of maternal care in areas like Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Sunrise, and Oakland Park.
Obstetricians at the Lauderdale Lakes center expected to treat several hundred women in the first year. Instead, the clinic has treated more than 1,600 maternity patients and provided more than 7,000 maternity visits. The cities the center serves have the most births in the county.
To reach women facing barriers to getting care, Jannea Wolff of Miramar offers telehealth-based maternal mental health therapy — specifically for mothers of color. Wolff recently launched Reclaiming Our Wellness to help with mental health needs stemming from motherhood, including depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. Wolff said a mother’s mental health and the way medical providers treat them are closely linked with birth outcomes.
Wolff, who nearly died in childbirth, said women of color need help, especially those who experienced a traumatic birth. “I didn’t feel very cared for in the hospital after the birth,” she said. “I want to empower women to use their voice to advocate for themselves.”
“Mothers are coming to me after they recognize symptoms,” she said. “They are dealing with concerns such as access to healthcare and nutritional foods, and trauma from their healthcare experiences or medical issues after having a child.”
Wolff is now hiring more staff, including a trauma-informed yoga instructor, a dance movement therapist and a nutritionist and renting physical space in Miramar to turn into a moms’ wellness space: “The idea is to holistically help women heal.”
Federal cuts could worsen the situation
Advocates are concerned that federal cuts to various programs, particularly Medicaid, will negatively impact maternal health. “These government changes will further cripple care for rural and low-income pregnant women in Florida, leaving them with inadequate support and services,” said Dr. Kaleen Richards, an Altamonte Springs nurse midwife
Florida’s rural areas have seen a significant reduction in obstetric services. Out of the state’s 27 rural hospitals, 18 have closed their obstetric units in recent years, forcing women of childbearing age to drive an hour or more to access maternal care.
“Those numbers could get even worse if Republicans in Congress slash the budget for Medicaid, which is a lifeline for moms and babies,” said Tina Sherman, National Director for Maternal Justice at MomsRising.
Nationally and in Florida, Medicaid covers more than 40% of births, provides prenatal and postpartum care, and accounts for 75% of public family planning dollars.
“Put simply, cutting this vital program would endanger moms, babies, and families — especially in Black, Brown, and low-income communities that already face significant health disparities,” Sherman said.
Cuts to Medicaid, if approved by the federal government, are unlikely to be decided before June.
