There has been a fair bit of criticism levied here and in other quarters for the shortcomings of the recently ended state legislative session, and the executive branch’s failure to protect Carney Hospital from closing last weekend. But there have been positive developments, too, from both lawmakers and the governor.

One of them crystalized last Friday when Gov. Healey signed a new maternal health bill into law at a State House ceremony. Front-and-center next to Healey was Sen. Liz Miranda, the key lawmaker on the Senate side who has led the charge for new policies for moms and the people who care for them and their newborns. Miranda, who lives in Roxbury and represents a big chunk of Dorchester in her district, wrote last week that “with the birth justice bill, we are taking a crucial step forward in tackling the Black maternal health crisis, while enabling the growth of free-standing birth centers across our Commonwealth.”

Her work takes direct aim at the well-documented health disparities that have long preyed on her constituents disproportionately. The state’s Department of Public Health reported last year that rates of labor and delivery complications among Black women nearly doubled in the state from 2011 to 2020. According to that report, the rate of “severe maternal morbidity” for Black moms was 2.5 higher than that of white moms, a 25 percent increase in the racial gap in that timeframe.

Much of the bill was informed by a special commission on “Racial Inequities in Maternal Health” that was led mainly by Black women, who are “midwives, doulas, nurses, researchers and community members who have been most impacted by inequities in maternal health outcomes,” Miranda noted. 
Among the reforms in the new law: Establishing a universal postpartum home visiting program and a new system of licensure for midwives and lactation specialists. The law will codify coverage of doula services and allow for more “birth centers” and other “out-of-hospital” delivery options. This is more good news for the state’s 120 doula providers, whose services are now covered by MassHealth. Some, as we have reported, have set up clinics right here in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury – where their services are most needed.

“Massachusetts is home to the best health care, but there was work to be done to improve birth options and health equity for families across the state,” the governor said in a statement reported by State House News Service. “These important expansions in the law will help make it both safer and easier to start and grow a family here in Massachusetts, while making sure that women can make the best health care decisions for themselves.”

According to the News Service, the new law “develops resources for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, boosts access to postpartum depression screenings and doula services, and improves oversight of ultrasound services. It also creates a new grant program for nonprofits and community-based health centers serving perinatal individuals dealing with mental or behavioral health conditions or substance use disorders.”

At a time when women’s reproductive rights are under assault nationally, it’s reassuring to see our state’s leadership stepping up to further strengthen protections for moms and their families. Sen. Miranda, the members of the commission, and her colleagues are to be congratulated for finding innovative ways to change the way we care for our neighbors and their children.