Alabama maternal health

Alabama women die each year from complications related to pregnancy, occurring during pregnancy and up to one year following a pregnancy or delivery, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). The agency is now taking new steps to help reduce the maternal mortality in the state.

A statewide, member-led nonprofit organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty is recommending a plan of action for local lawmakers. The 2025 roadmap for change in Alabama from Alabama Arise has expanding Medicaid and ending the state sales tax on groceries as top goals on the legislative agenda.

While at StoryCorps, death doula Marjorie Bowden interviews her niece, Nafeesah As-Salafeeyah, who’s a birth doula. They discuss how Nafeesah found this passion, the history of caretakers within their family, and the importance of having access to care and advocacy.

A report from the financial website WalletHub shows Alabama is one of the worst states for women in 2024. The Yellow Hammer State ranks in at No. 48 on the list.

An Alabama woman with two uteri and two cervixes has given birth to two babies after carrying one of them in each uterus. Kelsey Hatcher of Dora, about 28 miles northwest of Birmingham, gave birth to two girls on Wednesday and Thursday after a combined 20 hours of labor.

Alabama had the highest rate of residents dying from pregnancy complications in the nation between 2018 and 2021. That’s according to an August report from the Milken Institute, a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (The Birmingham News) — The Alabama state legislature has approved nearly half a million dollars to investigate deaths from childbirth…