PA’s Maternity Care Work Needs… A Lot Of Work

Pregnancy and childbirth should be happy and safe, but for way too many Black and brown women, complications before, during and even months after the birth are stealing that joy — and even some women’s lives. Dr. Sharee Livingston, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UPMC Lititz, joins City Cast’s Megan Harris for a conversation about Black Maternal Health Week and what Pittsburgh could learn from a promising new doula project in Lancaster. 

If you want to follow the legislation on these topics, check out: 

• House Bill 1175, which would extend Medicaid coverage to doula services and create a Doula Advisory Board;
• House Bill 1419, which would prohibit the shackling and solitary confinement of pregnant women, provide for trauma informed care training of corrections officers interacting with pregnant and postpartum women, and provide for up to three days of post-delivery bonding time between mother and newborn child; and
• House Resolution 959, better known as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. The bill is composed of 12 individual acts, all sponsored by the Black Maternal Health Caucus.

And in honor of 4-1-2 Day, redd up Mark Belko’s great Pirates scoop here: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2022/04/10/pirates-ticket-sales-revenue-player-investment-mlb-payroll-special-report/stories/202204100006

Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @CityCastPgh!