By Stacey Koehnke, MedShare CEO & Executive Director
Maternal and child health is a cornerstone of public health, reflecting the overall health and well-being of a community. Unfortunately, current maternal and child health outcomes around the world, while improving, still reveal significant challenges and disparities that require urgent attention and action.
MedShare has a long history of collaborating with our mission delivery partners to reduce global health disparities related to maternal and child health before, during, and after childbirth. In the past decade, MedShare has made significant progress in helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in countries like Nigeria, Nicaragua, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, providing hospitals and clinics with critical medical supplies and equipment, such as infant incubators, surgical tools, maternal delivery kits, and emergency obstetric supplies. Access to the right equipment—like incubators for preterm babies or blood pressure monitors for pregnant women—can directly reduce maternal and infant mortality by ensuring that health providers can respond to emergencies effectively.
Today, with the U.S. experiencing highest rate of maternal deaths by far of any high-income nation, MedShare is now focused on bolstering our support for free and charitable clinics, which are vital in addressing gaps in maternal and child health care for those who may otherwise be overlooked by our traditional healthcare system.
Maternal Health in the United States
The state of maternal healthcare in the U.S. is concerning. While progress has been made, there are significant challenges, especially compared to other developed nations. What’s more, maternal health outcomes are not improving uniformly, with significant disparities by race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
Free and charitable clinics play a vital role in improving maternal health outcomes, particularly for underserved and uninsured populations who may not have access to regular prenatal or postpartum care through other channels. Many clinics offer basic prenatal care, including early pregnancy screenings, blood pressure monitoring, ultrasounds, and referrals for additional care if complications arise. This early intervention can help identify issues such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, or fetal growth concerns before they become more serious.
*The average maternal mortality rate in high-income countries in 2024 was approximately seven deaths per 100,000 live births. This rate is significantly lower than the maternal mortality rate in the United States, which reported a provisional maternal mortality rate of 22.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. The disparities are stark, with non-Hispanic Black women experiencing a maternal mortality rate of 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births – 2.6 times higher than that of non-Hispanic White women. Georgia faces even more severe maternal health challenges, with 48.4 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births – fourth in the nation behind only Mississippi, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Alarmingly, 89% of these deaths were deemed preventable.
Child Health in the United States
There are still millions of children without health insurance in the U.S., primarily in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Children in rural areas, minority communities, and families with lower socioeconomic status face significant barriers to healthcare.
Free and charitable clinics help to remove financial barriers, providing essential services like immunizations, well-child checkups, and treatment for common illnesses, which help prevent serious conditions and improve health outcomes for children in these communities. Some free clinics also collaborate with pediatric specialists or offer referral services for children who need more advanced care, thus ensuring that children get the specialized treatment they need.
*In the United States, the infant mortality rate is 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a rate of 3.8 per 1,000 in other high-income countries. While this rate has declined over the years, significant disparities persist. Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant mortality, and is also associated with various health complications, including respiratory issues, developmental delays, and increased risk of chronic diseases later in life. Georgia’s child health outcomes also reflect significant challenges, with a preterm birth rate of 11.8% in 2023, higher than the national average.
The Role of MedShare International
MedShare, a healthcare-supporting humanitarian aid organization, plays a significant role in helping to improve access to essential healthcare services for underserved populations within the U.S. and around the world. MedShare’s targeted Health Solutions Program, focused on maternal & child health and chronic health conditions, is designed to help decrease health disparities by providing essential medical supplies and equipment to under-resourced providers in healthcare-challenged communities.
Internationally, this program supports clinics and caregivers, ensuring they have the necessary tools for safe childbirth and early detection of preventable chronic conditions. Quite often, these critical medical facilities are in remote areas of the world and often the only access to trained personnel and the necessary medical equipment to help prevent life-threatening complications like hemorrhage, eclampsia, and obstructed labor. MedShare has helped outfit many of these facilities with ultrasounds, incubators, ventilators, and the medical supplies needed to help reduce neonatal mortality rates.
In one rural village in the Dominican Republic, MedShare collaborated with a mission delivery partner to help design and outfit the area’s first fully equipped maternity ward as part of a larger, recently completed charitable hospital. Previously, patients had to travel over 200 miles for care. The pre- and post-natal services currently being provided are already saving lives, and the hospital is expected to have a significant impact on health outcomes in the region.
In the U.S., MedShare collaborates with free and charitable clinics, the backbone of the healthcare safety net in the United States. Some of these clinics provide basic maternal and child health care, vaccinations, screenings, maternal health education, and in some cases, emergency medical treatment. Other clinics specialize in maternal healthcare, offering a wider range of pre- and post-partem health services in areas where access to healthcare for uninsured and underinsured patients is limited.
In Texas, a state with the highest rate of uninsured residents, MedShare recently partnered with My Direct Obstetric Care (My DOC) in Corpus Christi, TX. The clinic had been struggling without a functioning ultrasound unit, hindering their ability to provide essential diagnostic services, and MedShare was quickly able to provide the clinic with one. According to clinic founder, Dr. Khatibi, “I am so happy to share this good news with our staff, donors, patients and community. The ultrasound and transducers from MedShare will dramatically increase our diagnostic cardiology, vascular medicine, obstetrics, and gynecology.”
Here in Atlanta, through a MedShare partnership with Philips N.A., both the Healing Community Center and Ethne Health Center were able to receive ultrasound machines along with hands-on training and support to help ensure sustainability. These units further enhance the diagnostic services provided through each clinic’s women’s health program.
In Georgia, children from low-income families may encounter several barriers when trying to get enrolled in school. Partnering with The Emory University Urban Health Initiative (UHI) has aligned with MedShare’s focus on child health. MedShare provided medical supplies and equipment for UHI’s Mobile Medical Back-to-School health events, where they conducted free medical evaluations, immunizations and hearing and vision screenings for hundreds of children. UHI Assistant Director Tammy Gustafsson Reasoner stated, “Having the equipment and supplies from MedShare has been such a blessing. We’ve been able to ensure accurate evaluations and see more families in half the time. With limited resources and finite windows of time, this is so important.”
Across the United States, MedShare has been able to support underserved communities in twenty-three states, partnering with eighty-one free and charitable care clinics – a 33% increase over the prior year. By supplying these clinics with medical equipment, supplies and biomedical support services, MedShare helps them save funds that can be redirected to patient care. This support is crucial for clinics serving marginalized populations, ensuring that mothers and children receive the care they need.
As we continue to work towards a future where all mothers and children have the opportunity to thrive, we are reminded that together, we can make a world of difference.
Learn more at www.medshare.org to support the health and well-being of mothers and children everywhere.
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