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Inspired By A Modest North Carolina Program, New Bills Aim To Lower Maternal Mortality Rates In The U.S. | HuffPost <br />https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/maternal-mortality-rate-social-causes_us_5b87276ae4b0511db3d47c1c?4is[8/30/2018 1:42:41 PM] <br />so they can focus on the pregnancy at hand. Scott’s part social worker, life coach, fixer and <br />friend for the approximately 50 women she’s responsible for at any given time as a pregnancy <br />care manager in Orange County, North Carolina. <br />Scott remembers a recent patient who had become homeless and had all four children taken <br />into the child welfare system until she could find a new home. Meanwhile, the woman was <br />pregnant again and struggling to get everything ready for the birth. <br />Soon before her due date, she came to Scott with a problem: She had the car seat and <br />newborn supplies, but couldn’t see herself being able to lug it all on the bus to the hospital <br />once she was ready to give birth. <br />Scott took it all and stored it in her own office at the University of North Carolina Medical <br />Center in Chapel Hill. And when the woman gave birth, she carried the supplies up to the <br />postpartum wing of the hospital. <br />For more well-connected women, Scott’s role might be filled by a sister, best friend or auntie, <br />while wealthier women might be able to employ a doula, nanny or concierge to help them get <br />ready for the baby. <br />But for the women Scott sees, who may be struggling with homelessness or addiction, she is <br />one of the few emotional supports they can count on throughout their whole pregnancy. <br />“She’s able to focus more on the pregnancy because she knows now she has support,” Scott <br />said about her work. “It’s like, ‘I have Latosha to call on, and she can at least tell me where to <br />go.’” <br />Menard says she was surprised to see that North Carolina’s pregnancy medical home <br />program had caught the attention of a senator from California, as the initiative is still relatively <br />young and still considered novel. <br />But she says that whether or not Harris’ bill passes, she hopes it sparks an overdue <br />discussion about the social causes of maternal mortality in addition to the medical delivery <br />component of maternal care. <br />Menard also thinks states should not wait for a federal law to pass before starting their own <br />programs, and she invites anyone to contact her agency for insight into how to get something