Cities of Camden and Philadelphia take steps to curb maternal mortality

CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- The issue of maternal mortality was front and center at an event in New Jersey on Wednesday morning.

It happened as Philadelphia continues an innovative new program bringing healthcare to the homes of new parents.

Community Planning and Advocacy Council held its Equity in Maternal Health event on the Rutgers University Camden campus.

The event included a panel discussion, moderated by Action News Race and Culture Reporter TaRhonda Thomas, on disparities in maternal health and mortality.

"We have legislators, advocacy organizations, people with lived experiences and we have all those resources that can connect it all together," said Anita Wemple, executive director of Community Planning and Advocacy Council, which is a non-profit.

The event comes as the City of Philadelphia's health department enters the seventh month of a new program aimed at addressing maternal mortality rates by offering help to new moms. The program is called Family Connects and is done in partnership with Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.

"(New moms) get a home visit by a nurse two to three weeks after they deliver. And they also provide resources and connections," said Dr. Aasta Mehta, division director of Maternal Child and Family Health in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

Family Connects is a free program providing postnatal at-home nurse visits to any patient who gives birth at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital. The goal is to reduce the city's maternal mortality rate, especially in the Black community.

"Black birthing people are about four times more likely to die of a birthing cause than white birthing people," said Mehta.

Looking at information from the Centers for Disease Control from 2018-2023, the 6abc data team found Black women make up about 70% of pregnancy-related deaths in Philadelphia.

In the past year, Camden County has put a bigger focus on maternal health with funding for programs and education for moms-to-be.

"We're working together with all the stakeholders at Camden city and Camden County to make sure that no mom goes unnoticed," said Camden County Commissioner Virginia Betteridge who was part of the panel discussion on maternal health in Camden.

One Trenton church is taking action by creating a birthing center.

"In Trenton, we are a birthing desert. We do not have a hospital that births in Trenton," said Diana Rogers with the Community Development Corporation at Greater Mount Zion AME Church

In Philadelphia, the hope is to make the Family Connects program available in hospitals across the city. The Philadelphia Department of Health hopes to release new data on maternal health next year.