12/20/2025
The United States earned a D+ for preterm birth for the fourth year in a row, and nearly 380,000 babies were born too soon in 2024, about 1 in 10 births. 📉👶
Behind that grade is a system that remains dangerously stalled.
What the data shows us is sobering:
🖤 Preterm birth among babies born to Black moms and birthing people has risen to 14.7%, nearly 1.5 times higher than the overall rate
🏥 Babies born to Medicaid covered moms face a higher preterm birth rate than those with private insurance
⏰ Nearly 1 in 4 pregnant people did not begin prenatal care in the first trimester, continuing a multi year decline
🩺 Chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes are rising, increasing risk before birth even begins
💔 Infant mortality remains unchanged, with more than 20,000 babies dying before their first birthday
This is not a mystery.
This is not inevitable.
A system built around fragmentation and late intervention is failing families. 🚨
Community midwives offer a different model. 🤲🏽
Early care. Relationship centered care. Continuity. Trust.
Care that reaches people sooner and stays with them longer.
This is why NACPM exists.
To expand access to community based midwifery.
To protect and elevate the work of midwives.
To ensure midwives have a voice in policy, funding, and systems shaping maternal and infant health.
Community midwives are not the backup plan.
We are not a niche solution.
We are aligned with NACPM’s mission because we are the answer this moment demands. ✨
The data is clear.
The path forward is clear.
The answer is already here. ✅
