Reception for Maternity Care Caucus Co-Founders
On December 5, leaders of several national organizations in maternal-child health honored two Members of Congress, Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R-WA), co-founders of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care.
Representatives Roybal-Allard and Herrera Beutler launched the Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care in 2015 to raise awareness about important maternity care-related issues and highlight challenges facing America’s maternity care system.
MMHLA recognized Representatives Roybal-Allard and Herrera Beutler, along with their health policy advisors Debbie Jessup and Adriianna Lagorio, with letters of recognition and appreciation for their years of service in Congress.
MMHLA joined several leading national organizations in hosting this event, including:
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Association of Maternal-Child Health Professionals
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Women’s Health Research
Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard
Representative Roybal-Allard is retiring after a 30-year career in the House of Representatives. She is pictured with MMHLA Founder Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, who presented Roybal-Allard with a letter recognizing her important work in the House of Representatives in advancing maternal health and maternal mental health in particular.
Among her many accomplishments in supporting new mothers and families, Representative Roybal-Allard led two important pieces of legislation:
The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act, which helped save the lives of thousands of infants each year by helping to eliminate preventable newborn deaths and severe disabilities through the increased use of comprehensive and standardized newborn screening tests.
The Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act, which established grants to states to create culturally-appropriate programs to address maternal mental health.
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler
Representative Herrera Beutler, who gave birth to three children while serving in Congress, returns to her home in Washington state. She is pictured with Debbie Jessup, Health Policy Advisor to Representative Roybal-Allard.
Commenting on the state of maternal health in the United States, Representative Herrera Beutler said, “It is unacceptable that the United States is lagging behind other countries in maternal health care. Even though the U.S. spends significantly more on childbirth than any other industrialized nation, America continues to rank far behind almost all other developed countries in healthy births. We must do better. I have worked hard with my good friend from across the aisle, Lucille Roybal-Allard, to advance awareness, education and solutions to improve life for mothers and babies.”
We are grateful to this terrific team of dedicated public servants for their work to improve the health and welfare of our nation’s mothers and babies.
