Reimagining Postpartum Care: The 100 Weeks Project with Dr. Venice Haynes

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"Congratulations, you're both alive."

This shockingly low bar for maternal healthcare success reveals everything wrong with how America treats new mothers. In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Venice Haynes, Senior Director of Research and Community Engagement at United States of Care, shares the urgent mission behind the groundbreaking 100 Weeks Project - an initiative transforming postpartum care by acknowledging that maternal health needs extend far beyond delivery.

Dr. Haynes pulls back the curtain on America's maternal health crisis, sharing both data and personal stories that highlight the dangerous gap in care during the postpartum period. Most new mothers don't see a healthcare provider between delivery and their six-week checkup, despite the fact that over 60% of maternal deaths occur within the first seven days after birth. This negligence reflects a healthcare system that continues to treat new mothers as afterthoughts.

The cultural expectation of "toxic independence" compounds this crisis. Mothers are expected to handle everything themselves, creating a dangerous reluctance to seek help even when warning signs appear. Meanwhile, essential postpartum services like lactation consulting, pelvic floor physical therapy, and mental health support remain categorized as luxuries rather than necessities, placing them out of reach for many families.

Through the 100 Weeks Project, Dr. Haynes and her team are working to fundamentally reimagine maternal care by 2030. By advocating for expanded Medicaid coverage, better employer policies, improved data collection, and innovative care models, they aim to create a future where maternal health is truly valued - not just for the six weeks after delivery, but for the entire journey through parenthood.

What would it look like if we treated mothers like they matter? Listen now to discover how we can transform maternal care from a bare-minimum survival scenario to a truly supportive experience for all.

Learn more here: https://100wee

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Medical Disclaimer:
This podcast is intended as a safe space for women to share their birth experiences. It is not intended to provide medical advice. Each woman’s medical course of action is individual and may not appropriately transfer to another similar situation. Please speak to your medical provider before making any medical decisions. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that evidence based practice evolves as our knowledge of science improves. To the best of my ability I will attempt to present the most current ACOG and AWHONN recommendations at the time the podcast is recorded, but that may not necessarily reflect the best practices at the time the podcast is heard. Additionally, guests sharing their stories have the right to autonomy in their medical decisions, and may share their choice to go against current practice recommendations. I intend to hold space for people to share their decisions. I will attempt to share the current recommendations so that my audience is informed, but it is up to each individual to choose what is best for them.