Maternal Health Innovation Program

Are you a pregnant or postpartum woman who had barriers during your pregnancy? If you were pregnant in the last three years and want to improve care for pregnant women in Wisconsin, join the Maternal Health Lived Experience subcommittee.

If you work with pregnant and post-partum women who want to improve care, please let them know about this opportunity.

The Maternal Health Task Force is looking for individuals (including partners and non-birthing parents) with maternal health lived experience to join our subcommittee.

About the Task Force

The Maternal Health Lived Experience subcommittee is a group that fosters a safe environment while addressing maternal health needs across the state and brainstorming opportunities to improve access to care. The committee’s role includes:

• Providing feedback and recommendations on the State’s Maternal Health Task Force Strategic Plan (PDF).
• Giving guidance on maternal health initiatives.
• Participating in opportunities for storytelling and advocacy around maternal health needs in your community and across the state.
• Meeting via Zoom for 90 minutes each quarter.

Learn more

Join the information session on Wednesday, August 12, from noon–1 p.m. If you are unable to attend but interested, please email the MHI Coordinator, Melissa Brockie (melissa.brockie@dhs.wisconsin.gov).

The program is excited to share new data dashboards. Data on maternal health outcomes and experiences are important for understanding, monitoring, and improving the health of Wisconsin mothers and families.

Much of these data haven’t been released previously, including quotes from mothers and recommendations about each topic. Data within the dashboards will be updated annually, and the program anticipates publishing dashboards on additional maternal health topics in the future.

• Watch a presentation of data, sources, and also a live walk-through of the dashboards. Slides of the presentation (PDF) are also available.
• There is also a recorded video tutorial for the data dashboards.

The program now publishes quarterly newsletters to inform the public about program news, updates, upcoming trainings, and related funding opportunities. Subscribe to stay informed.

• March newsletter
• June newsletter

The plan was shaped by the voices and experiences of Wisconsin families, community-based organizations, public health professionals, tribal and local health departments, clinicians, and researchers.

Through listening sessions, collaborative planning, and analysis of lived experiences and statewide data, the MHI program and Maternal Health Task Force crafted a framework that honors what communities shared, what data revealed, and what is needed to drive meaningful change.

The plan outlines the importance of community centered care and support, data driven decision making, and transparency and sustainability through funding and resource allocation. We encourage organizations to use the plan's six key questions to start a conversation in your community!

Review and share the full plan (PDF) or our summary of key takeaways (PDF).

Emplify Health: Say hello to healthcare with even more heart. Our commitment is focused on amplifying empathy in healthcare.

Grant priorities

• Develop a return on investment model for Community Health Worker (CHW) working with a health system’s high risk OB population.
• Develop a Pregnancy-to-Preschool playbook identifying best practices for CHW’s and doulas.

Project takeaways

• Identifying the patients that have the most complex and pressing needs, combined with the willingness to receive support, should be prioritized to maintain a reasonable caseload for the CHW.
• For cases in which transportation and referrals to services are the primary components, social work and community organizations can likely be as effective as the CHW.
• Emplify Health is working with HMO Quartz to identify the ways billing could cover a portion or all of the perinatal CHW’s time. The evaluation of the cost is ongoing

Learn more about Emplify Health.

Anesis Therapy: Helping individuals navigate the mental health and wellness aspects of their lives in a way that honors culture, family, community, and faith.

Grant priorities

• In collaboration with the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, we offered a support group for Black mothers to process their emotions, receive peer and therapist support, and build self-compassion and healthy relationships.
• Provided community providers an opportunity to learn more about the effects of mental health on maternal well-being, fostering greater awareness and collaboration.

Project takeaways

• Working with prenatal and postpartum clients has been truly inspiring. Many shared a heartfelt desire for genuine connection — a space where they didn’t have to navigate their grief or healing journey alone.
• Through this experience, we discovered the beauty of slowing down, being intentional, and aligning our resources with purpose. Scaling thoughtfully allowed us to create more meaningful, sustainable spaces for mothers to feel seen, supported, and empowered.

Learn more about Anesis Therapy.

Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness: We energize, mobilize and support Black Women to transform their health and their lives through education, advocacy, support, and powerful partnerships.

Grant priorities

• Recruit, train and certify new doulas and offer a refresher training for previously trained doulas.
• Doula training includes:
• Apricot 360 and handbook orientation
• Childbirth education
• Birth doula training
• Postpartum training and trauma informed care
• Lactation and maternal mental health toolkit

Project takeaways

• Equity-driven training works. The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness successfully implemented a culturally responsive doula training program that not only prepared 20 new doulas for certification but also demonstrated how intentional supports; such as childcare, stipends, and travel reimbursement, remove barriers and expand access for women of color entering the maternal health workforce.

Learn more about The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness and its maternal and child health initiatives.

Covering WI: Covering Wisconsin is a program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. We help connect Wisconsin residents with health insurance and other programs that support health.

Grant priorities

• Enhance professional awareness about the Medicaid coverage option for pregnant and post-partum individuals among community agencies serving those likely eligible.
• Augment outreach and awareness-raising among agencies serving this community.
• Facilitate more enrollment assistance from Covering Wisconsin Navigators.

Project takeaways

• Parents-to-be, hospital financial counselors, and social workers could benefit from more communication from DHS about the 60-day post birth extended health benefit coverage.
• Many moms didn't know postpartum care was available to them. More awareness could reduce untreated postpartum depression.
• Moms could be screened to see if other household members are Medicaid-eligible, especially children not born in the US and who have a social security number.

Learn more about Covering Wisconsin and their material health efforts.

City on a Hill: City on a Hill transforms cities and families by restoring hope, enhancing the quality of life, and advancing justice for all generations.

Grant Priorities

• Expand Medicaid enrollment and re-enrollment services to 100 Medicaid eligible pregnant and postpartum women.
• Improve Medicaid enrollment education and awareness through maternal health workshops and multilingual resources

MHI Project Key Takeaways

• The positive impact was building partnerships with other organizations. City on a Hill partnered with Care Net Milwaukee for Medicaid referrals. This collaboration allowed our teams to interact daily, develop new processes, and problem-solve together. Because of this grant, we have also identified additional ways to partner and better meet community needs.
• Young moms benefit from having a designated contact person for Medicaid enrollment. Without this support, many moms may face prolonged wait times on the phone, leading to frustration and can lead to giving up on the process altogether

To be determined

To be determined