Northern NH maternal health organizations receive grants from border commission

The Women of the Mountains Birth Initiative, also known as WOMB, and Families Flourish Northeast Inc. received $119,705 to help tackle the maternal health crisis in northern New Hampshire, the Northern Border Regional Commission announced.

They’re two of 14 organizations across New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to receive a collective $1.67 million from the commission. The money came through a partnership between the commission and the federal government aimed at addressing various gaps in the region’s healthcare network.

WOMB plans to use the money to develop “a network of community-based birth workers and regional healthcare partners,” including “a doula peer mentorship network and a centralized nonprofit hub to support administration, billing, referrals, and connections to prenatal and postpartum services,” per the grant announcement. Families Flourish Northeast plans to develop “a coordinated, family-centered healthcare network” for pregnant and parenting women struggling with substance use disorders in rural New Hampshire and Vermont.

This comes as New Hampshire and rural New England’s maternal care infrastructure is shrinking. Eleven maternity wards have closed in New Hampshire since 2000, the Bulletin has reported.