SOURCE: UnitedHealth Group

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The mortality rate for expectant Black mothers in America is twice as high as white mothers, according to America’s Health Rankings data. This is one of the widest disparities in women’s health, according to the report, but there are many more.

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Speaking at an Axios virtual event on maternal health disparities, Dr. Janice Huckaby , chief medical officer of Maternal-Child Health, Optum Population Health Services, discussed how UnitedHealth Group is improving the health of mothers and newborns and reducing the occurrence of avoidable maternal and infant morbidity and mortality.

“We’ve invested in community organizations, such as Any Baby Can, that actually go into homes and meet people where they are to help improve outcomes. To make sure we’re meeting people in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way, we’ve had training that we’ve partnered with the CDC and Morehouse School of Medicine on around implicit bias, especially as it relates to improving maternal outcomes.” – Dr. Janice Huckaby

How UnitedHealth Group is Helping

To help address disparities and improve maternal health outcomes, UnitedHealth Group is leveraging partnerships with community-based organizations to support programs that meet patients where they are. Following are recent initiatives to help expectant mothers:

• The United Health Foundation recently announced a partnership with Touro University Nevada to help reduce maternal health disparities and increase the state’s OB-GYN and family medicine physician workforce.
• Through the United Health Foundation’s partnership with Any Baby Can, a Texas-based organization, we are helping expand at-home maternal care services and improve the health of at-risk prenatal women and their children in Austin, Texas, and its surrounding communities.
• The United Health Foundation provided a grant  to the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. The grant will help expand support for pregnant and postpartum women in rural and underserved areas of Georgia.

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Advancing Health Equity

Read how UnitedHealth Group is working to address health disparities and help create a more equitable society for the people we serve.

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Tweet me: Dr. Janice Huckaby , chief medical officer of Maternal-Child Health, @Optum Population Health Services, discussed how @UnitedHealthGrp improves the health of mothers and newborns in reducing the occurrence of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. https://bit.ly/3y0Ptdb

KEYWORDS: NYSE:UNH, UnitedHealth Group, Maternal-Child Health, Optum Population Health Services