On Wednesday, July 20, we were proud to join the 8th annual #BumpDay as an official partner! Held annually the third Wednesday in July, the goal of #BumpDay is to raise awareness about the need for equitable care for every mom, everywhere, and to urge elected representatives to take action to support safe pregnancies and healthy babies.
#BumpDay is a global social media advocacy campaign that celebrates beautiful bumps and healthy pregnancies while raising urgently needed awareness about the need for better, more equitable, more accessible maternal healthcare. Our goal: to ensure that every mom, everywhere receives the care and support she needs to deliver a healthy start in life and a healthy future for herself and the baby she loves.
It’s more critical and more urgent than ever to ensure that all moms – regardless of their race or ethnicity, no matter where they live and what they can afford – receive the respectful, responsive, quality, comprehensive, supportive, and nurturing care they need and deserve.
#BumpDay 2022 focused on disparities in care in the U.S. and globally. WhatToExpect.com harnessed the reach and power of its community of over 20 million moms to engage and activate in this critical advocacy campaign.
Did you know?
- 2.2 million women live in maternity care deserts.
- Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are up to 3x more likely to die of pregnancy-related
causes than white women. This is unacceptable. - Black moms-to-be are more likely than white moms-to-be to have delayed first prenatal appointments. They
are 3x more likely than white women to have their first prenatal appointment at 16 weeks or later. - 1 in 4 pregnant women have felt ignored or dismissed by a maternity care provider.
- White women are 14% more likely than Black women to have their first ultrasound during the first trimester.
- Moms who use a doula are 2x less likely to have pregnancy complications. Every mom should have access to one.
- 1 in 5 births worldwide happen without a skilled birth attendant.
- Around the world, more than 800 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications every day.
- Black moms face a 3x greater risk of dying from a pregnancy-related complication, American Indian/Alaska
Native moms face a 2x greater risk, and rural moms living in maternity care deserts, a 1.5x greater risk. - The U.S. maternal mortality rate is higher than in any other high-income nation in the world. The U.S. is also
the only country where maternal mortality is rising. - The risks have ticked up by 33% during the COVID-19 pandemic, widening the gaps in maternal healthcare
even more for moms of color – and for the first time, Latina moms. - Fulfilling the unmet need for family planning and providing quality maternal and newborn care would reduce
maternal deaths by 73%. - Less than half of all rural women have access to a hospital providing perinatal care located within a 30-
minute drive of their home. - Maternal deaths occurring between six weeks and one-year postpartum are 3.5x more likely among Black
women than white women. - Over 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. It is time to stop accepting the unacceptable.
- Medicaid pregnancy coverage, which pays for over 40% of all births in the U.S., expires only 60 days after
childbirth, leaving many without coverage during the critical postpartum period. Research shows that more than half of all maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period. To reduce maternal mortality rates and help end preventable maternal deaths, postpartum Medicaid coverage needs to be federally expanded to at least a full year after delivery.
