Why is maternal mortality in the U.S. climbing? Plus, is a baby bonus coming to Baltimore?

By Maureen Harvie,

Published May 11, 2023 at 10:13 AM EDT

Advocates are working to establish a "baby bonus" in Baltimore that would award new parents $1,000. Credit: Eric Parker/Flickr — Advocates are working to establish a "baby bonus" in Baltimore that would award new parents $1,000.

The pandemic worsened America’s maternal mortality crisis, with the burden of death disproportionately felt by communities of color. We speak with Dr. Doee Kitessa, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Then, the Maryland Child Alliance is collecting signatures to put a 'baby bonus' on the ballot - $1000 to new parents in Baltimore. We speak to the group's founder, Nate Golden. The group will have a table at the 3rd Annual Baltimore Birth Festival on May 21st..

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Maureen Harvie

Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.

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Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

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