Maternal & Child Health

At Child Trends, we believe that maternal and child health is broader than the health of mothers and babies. Our researchers examine the health of newborns, babies, toddlers, and young children, as well as the health of mothers and birthing people before, during, and after a pregnancy. We also explore the relationships between parents and children, and the ways in which communities, programs, and policies influence family well-being. Child Trends’ analysis of the recent historic declines in child poverty point to the policies that can impact the well-being of pregnant and parenting individuals and their young children. However, persistent gaps remain when it comes to the race and ethnicity of young children and their families living in poverty, and child poverty rates vary by state. Our researchers understand that maternal and child health are influenced by policy and program decisions across a wide range of sectors.

Child Trends research contributes to a greater shared understanding of the needs of a diverse range of families, and of the systemic inequities they navigate; toward that end, we outline anti-racist policy strategies to support Black families and babies. The Early Childhood Health Equity project aims to help policymakers better understand health equity efforts in their states and how these efforts might fit together or complement one another. Our researchers also study barriers to health care access for infants and toddlers in rural areas. We partner with foundations to support and evaluate their maternal and child health initiatives, thereby facilitating cross-sector partnerships and community-driven innovation toward more equitable prenatal and early childhood health systems.

We’re proud that our research reaches a broad audience of policymakers, practitioners, and the general public. We work with programs like Healthy Start, community health providers, Smart Start, and HealthySteps to better understand their implementation and continuous quality improvement. Our research has been featured in media reports in the New York Times and Health Affairs.