Buckner Announces Illinois Birth Equity Blueprint to Promote Comprehensive and Equitable Maternal Health Options

CHICAGO — State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, announced the recent release of the Illinois Birth Equity Blueprint—a result of the Illinois Birth Equity Initiative he helped pass last year—which creates a long-term roadmap for improving birth outcomes for all Illinois mothers.

“Mothers in Black and Brown communities are disproportionately affected by a lack of proper maternal care and that has to change,” Buckner said. “I helped pass the Illinois Birth Equity Initiative to enforce that change and by taking major steps to cut costs of essential cure before, during and after pregnancies. This blueprint continues the vital progress that families in our community deserve.”

Last year, Buckner helped lead the passage of the Illinois Birth Equity Initiative, which mandated many changes to and expansions of maternal healthcare in Illinois. Those changes included ensuring competitive Medicaid reimbursement for doulas, lactation consultants, home visitors and other community-based care providers who assist new mothers before, after and during birth. This blueprint builds on those improvements and targets systemic inequities in maternal healthcare.

Recent statewide investments in this area include $12 million in child tax credits, $5 million to provide more home visits for working-families, and $4.5 million in birth equity grants that have funded the training of 186 doulas and 79 lactation consultants.

“Without progress like major Medicaid expansions, thousands of underserved families will be faced with a terrible choice: spend money they don’t have to get necessary healthcare or risk a more challenging pregnancy,” Buckner said. “Putting even one family in that position is unacceptable, and I’ll keep fighting until universally equitable maternal healthcare at an affordable cost is the reality for every Illinois family.”