Improving Maternal Health for Texas Mothers

Caring for Texas Moms Statewide

Illustration of diverse Texas mothers and their children

Every mother has the right to safe, accessible, and quality maternal healthcare regardless of race, age, socioeconomic status, insurance, or location.

Improving the quality of medical care for mothers before, during, and after pregnancy will reduce maternal deaths.

Let’s support mothers everywhere.

What we do

Our goal is to improve the 
maternal health of all Texas mothers.

 

Mothers need our help—including single mothers, married mothers, those in rural areas, and those seeking financial assistance. To support them all, we must protect and advance maternal healthcare through advocacy, issue education, and community-building. And that’s what we’re doing with your support!

Mission Statement: Our core belief is that every woman has the right to safe, equitable, and quality maternal healthcare across the state, regardless of race, age, socioeconomic status, insurance, or location. Working together, we can eradicate the health and racial disparities that continue to be significant drivers of maternal mortality and morbidity in Texas and across the U.S.

Looking for maternal care resources? You’ve come to the right place!

Find immediate support: The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, text or call 1-833-TLC-MAMA.

Remember to look for urgent maternal warning signs during pregnancy and for a year after delivery.

Interested in sponsoring a podcast that entertains, informs, and supports Texas moms? You can learn more here.

 
 
 
 
 

 FAQs

  • Many Texas mothers struggle with limited access to hospitals, OB-GYNs, and midwives, especially in rural counties. Long travel distances, lack of transportation, high costs, and gaps in insurance coverage all make it harder to receive timely prenatal delivery and postpartum care.

  • A maternity care esert is a county where there are no hospitals offering obstetric services and no OB-GYN or certified nurse-midwives available. In Texas, approximately half of counties qualify as maternity care deserts, leaving thousands of mothers without nearby, essential healthcare.

  • Yes. Texas is among the states with the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the nation. Texas mothers are more likely to experience pregnancy complications due to limited access to care, higher rates of chronic conditions, racial and economic disparities, and reduced postpartum Medicaid coverage.

  • Policies around Medicaid expansion, postpartum care coverage, hospital funding, rural healthcare support, and maternal mortality review committees directly impact mothers. State laws on reproductive health, midwivery licensing, access to doula services, and telehealth also shape access to care across our state.

  • You can support maternal health in Texas by advocating for better healthcare policies, volunteering with Save Texas Moms and other nonprofits addressing maternal health, and raising awareness about the unique challenges Texas mothers face in accessing safe, affordable care.

Texas Right Now

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of Texas women ages 19-64 were without health insurance in 2023. Since Texas is one of only 10 states that did not adopt the ACA Medicaid expansion, some uninsured women fall into a health “coverage gap” and are not eligible for assistance.*

*KFF estimates based on the 2023 American Community Survey; KFF, Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions, as of Nov. 12, 2024

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of Texas women ages 18-44 in 2022 reported a time when they needed to see a doctor but could not due to cost, compared to 17% in the U.S.*


*The Commonwealth Fund, 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care, which ranked Texas worst in the nation

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of Texas counties are classified as Maternity Care Deserts, higher than the 32.6% in the U.S.*


*March of Dimes, Where You Live Matters: Maternity Care Deserts and the Crisis of Access and Equity, 2024

 
A Texas mother holding her baby while sitting on the floor.

Resources for Moms

Find the essential tools and information you need to support your journey through pregnancy and postpartum.

Learn More

For Practitioners

Access tailored resources to help you enhance maternal care and deliver compassionate, effective support to your patients.

Learn More
A pregnant Texas mother holds her hands over her belly in the shape of a heart.

Share your Story

Share or explore real pregnancy stories to inspire, connect, and empower women navigating their unique motherhood paths.

Learn More

  • Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women.

    ~National Partnership for Women & Families

  • “Maternal deaths are one of the most catastrophic things that can happen in medicine.”

    ~Dr. Elliot Main, former California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative Medical Director

  • “The most recent MMMRC report is deeply concerning and needs to be a wake-up call for anyone concerned about Texas moms and their families.”

    ~Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, 2024

  • “A lot of the severe morbidity is caused by lack of access, which is hard for me to comprehend.”

    ~Dr. Omonike Olaleye, Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, Texas Southern University 

  • “Each maternal death, each life that is lost, has value. We can’t make comments about what caused an increase in maternal death in our state if we’re not really reviewing all of them.”

    ~Dr. Carla Ortique, Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee Chair, in a 2024 statement calling for the reversal of legislative changes in removing Texas from the federal maternal mortality tracking system and allowing for the review of abortion-related deaths.

  • “We must prioritize eliminating racial disparities in maternal health ... to ensure that health and well-being, not just survival, become our measures of progress.”

    ~Terrance E. Moore, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, in response to the National Center for Health Statistics report on Maternal Mortality Rates, 2024

  • “If we’re going to make a dent in maternal morbidity and mortality, it’s going to take the entire house of medicine.”

    ~Dr. Kavita Shah Arora, at the 2024 American Medical Association annual meeting in Chicago 

  • “More than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.”

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024

An illustration of a Texas mother holding up her child. A beautiful sign of maternal health.