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Opinion | Michigan has a strong maternal, child health budget. We can’t afford to lose it
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For years, too many Michigan families have experienced pregnancy and early parenthood without the care and resources they needed.
Women have struggled to access prenatal and postpartum services. Parents have navigated mental health challenges, child-care barriers, and complicated health care systems during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. And too many mothers and babies across Michigan continue to experience preventable complications and uneven outcomes depending on where they live, the color of their skin, and whether they can access timely, coordinated care.
Nearly 75% of maternal deaths in Michigan are considered preventable. Research continues to show that maternal and infant health is shaped not only by medical care but also by families’ access to behavioral health care, transportation, child care, and stable community support throughout pregnancy and early childhood.
That’s why Michigan’s recent investments in maternal and child health matter and why we cannot afford to lose momentum. Under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s leadership and with bipartisan support from the Legislature, the state has made important investments that strengthen systems of care, improve access, and help families in tangible ways.
Strong maternal health outcomes begin long before delivery. Access to preventive and reproductive health care, including family planning, fertility care, and postpartum services, all influence maternal and infant health. Over the past several years, Michigan voters and leaders have worked to strengthen access to these services while also expanding programs focused on maternal and infant health.
That includes investments in doulas and midwives, maternal quality improvement in hospitals, group prenatal care, postpartum services, early childhood supports and community-based programs for families.
These improvements did not happen by accident. Progress requires health care leaders, public agencies, providers, community organizations and families working together to strengthen systems of care and make effective use of resources. Prevention, early intervention work and sustained investment matter.
These efforts also reflect something many families and advocates already know: healthy children and healthy mothers are deeply connected. When parents are supported, babies do better. When care happens early, children are healthier, more prepared to learn and more likely to thrive long-term.
In a challenging budget environment, Michigan has maintained momentum on issues affecting moms, babies and children across the state. Gov. Whitmer’s budget reflects that understanding by investing not only in health care, but also in prevention, stability and the conditions that shape long-term outcomes. It supports hospitals implementing maternal safety standards, expands access to birth centers and midwives, funds mental health consultation programs, and maintains universal school meals for children across Michigan.
Together, these efforts form a stronger network of support for families.
Progress like this reflects years of advocacy, partnership, and work from providers, parents, legislators and organizations across Michigan who understand that maternal and child health is foundational to the strength of our communities and economy. Michigan should be proud of the direction we are moving while remaining clear-eyed about what is at stake. Strong maternal and child health systems require sustained commitment. Programs that improve outcomes only work when families can count on them being there.
That is why it is critical that the investments included in this year’s budget remain intact and why we hope to see continued appropriations for these programs in the FY27 budget.
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