It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
Every year, the March of Dimes Report Card gives us a sobering snapshot of maternal and infant health in America. And every year, I hope the numbers will look different.
As we head into the holiday season, the 2025 Report Card felt especially urgent.
The U.S. is still one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth. Our national preterm birth rate is still stuck at 10%. Despite more investment and public attention, the crisis isn’t getting better.
This year, I felt more hope reading the report.
Not because the numbers improved–but because now, through our partnerships with payors and OB practices at Delfina, I see firsthand how outcomes shift when families receive proactive, continuous support. This Report Card reinforces what we see every day:
We can’t fix maternal health until we fix upstream risks, access gaps, and system fragmentation–long before someone delivers.
The Report Card shows that the national preterm birth rate is still 10.4%. The root causes haven’t changed:
These gaps aren’t new. They’re unresolved, and they continue to hold our system back.
Even in a difficult year, the Report Card highlights real progress:
Preterm birth improved in 19 states. Proof that system-level change is possible when prevention and access are prioritized.
Postpartum coverage is expanding. 48 states + DC now offer 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, giving families time to stabilize their health.
Doula reimbursement is growing. 25 states + DC reimburse doulas, a win for culturally aligned and continuous support for historically underserved communities most impacted by poor outcomes.
Upstream risks are finally on the radar. Chronic conditions, mental health, and social drivers are increasingly recognized as shaping outcomes long before that first prenatal visit.
These shifts show policymakers, payors, health systems, and community leaders are moving in the same direction. This lays the foundation for real progress–and we all have a role to build on it.
The March of Dimes Report Card makes one thing clear: maternal health outcomes haven’t budged and the system was never built for prevention or equity. These structural gaps won’t resolve themselves until we build a different kind of system–one that identifies risk early, supports families continuously, expands access, and connects the data needed for real accountability:
1. Identify risk earlier, before complications hit:
The rise in hypertension and diabetes is a warning. These conditions don’t suddenly appear at 20 weeks. They evolve after years of unmanaged risk.
Delfina enables proactive intervention with clinically-validated predictive models that flag risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain, as early as 12-14 weeks.
And through the PreMa widget, the Preconception Medical Assessment digital tool we built with the California Office of the Surgeon General–families can identify risks before pregnancy.
2. Ensure early prenatal engagement and continuous postpartum support
Late entry to care remains one of the biggest predictors of preterm health. Delfina closes the early-pregnancy gap with culturally responsive education, risk screening, symptom monitoring, and care navigation that gets the patient to her first prenatal visit sooner.
Once connected to OB care, Delfina provides wraparound support through 12 months postpartum—integrating mental health, lactation, nutrition, and doula support—that keep patients engaged between OB visits.
3. Expand access in maternity care deserts and extend OB capacity
Access still depends on geography. With OB units closing and maternity deserts growing, too many enter care late, or not at all. Delfina extends OB reach with a virtual-first, bilingual care team and a remote monitoring toolkit–including connected devices and a simple pregnancy app–that works even in low-connectivity areas so families get timely support wherever they live.
4. Integrate data across the entire perinatal journey
Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers to understanding why moms are dying and where inequities persist. Delfina connects data across OB EHRs, patient-reported outcomes, and remote monitoring tools. We give payors, providers, and maternal mortality review committees the longitudinal view they need to see what’s working and prove that investing early saves lives and lowers costs.
The March of Dimes Report Card is a clear call to action. We can’t keep doing more of the same and expect different results.
We need a system of care built for the realities families face today–prevention-first, continuous, and connected from early pregnancy through postpartum.
This crisis may be stuck, but our response doesn’t have to be. We invite health plan and health system partners to join us in delivering our new system of care and finally solve this crisis.
Data source: March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card state-level data, Policy Actions Report, and Maternity Care Deserts Report
It’s time to build a system that finally moves outcomes
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