Maternal and Child Health

About

Facts and Figures

Reports

Despite decades of passionate, well-intended effort, North Carolina has the 8th highest infant mortality rate in the nation. North Carolina is facing a maternal and infant mortality equity crisis, and FHLI is actively working to turn conversation into action.

With funding and thought partnership from maternal health advocates and funders such as the HopeStar Foundation and The Duke Endowment, in 2023 FHLI launched the Maternal and Child Health Equity Action Network (MCHEAN). In its first phase, MCHEAN engaged key partners, communities, and stakeholders to develop a sustainable, community-driven network dedicated to strengthening maternal and child health equity.

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Through 2025, MCHEAN:

  • Formed an equity and action-focused network with community representation
  • Developed a community-informed report mapping and linking maternal and child health equity efforts in North Carolina
  • Produced and publicize a final report with action plans to achieve opportunities in partnerships, program development, and policy reform

Progress and Opportunities

In early 2023, FHLI authored its first MCHEAN publication, a comprehensive landscape report outlining:
  • Trends in maternal and infant health
  • The existing landscape in North Carolina
  • Policy, workforce, health systems, and funding opportunities
  • Next steps and a call to action
Download the Report

Facts & Figures

  • Black women in North Carolina are 4 times more likely to lose a child before their first birthday compared to white women.
  • Black women are also 2.9 times more likely than white women to die while pregnant or within a year of childbirth.
  • Across the United States, maternal mortality increased 58 percent from 1990 – 2017. This rate is estimated to have continued to rise since 2017, making America the only industrialized nation with rising maternal mortality.

Rising Together

In early 2025, MCHEAN facilitators and FHLI staff unveiled the Network’s full report: Rising Together from Challenges to Change: A Cross-Sector Action Plan for Maternal and Child Health Equity in North Carolina. 

This collective effort represents a shared commitment to building healthier futures for families across our communities. FHLI, alongside its team of subject-matter expert facilitators, recruited over 50 participants, approximately 50% of whom had lived experience with maternal and child health equity challenges. MCHEAN participants worked together to develop strategies incorporated into the action plans presented in this report.

Fill out this form to download the report

Next Steps

In early 2025, FHLI welcomed Austyn Holleman as its new Director of Community Voice. Austyn is a perinatal mental health therapist, birth doula, and public health professional who is deeply passionate about reproductive justice.

In her new role, she is working to launch the next phase of MCHEAN, ensuring the work doesn’t stop here. If you are interested in being involved in MCHEAN moving forward, please sign up for FHLI updates and be among the first to learn when new opportunities are available!