We take a life course approach to improving health.
We support mothers, women, children, and families during each stage of life, from infancy through adulthood.
We fund work that promotes family-centered, proven methods that improve a person’s health.
We support:
- Providers such as doctors, nurses, behavioral health clinicians, public health professionals, community health workers, home visitors, and others working together to care for people’s overall health
- Innovations like telehealth to overcome obstacles people face in accessing the services that they need
- Services to fill gaps so that children and youth with special health care needs and families in low-resource areas, whether rural or urban, get what they need to reach their full potential
We seek optimal health for all.
We aim to make sure all maternal and child health (MCH) populations have just and fair opportunities to thrive and reach their full potential. To achieve this goal, we aim to:
- Invest resources to support underserved populations and communities
- Collect and use data to measure and address disparities
- Ensure our own organization reflects and is sensitive to the diversity of perspectives and experiences of the people we serve
We gather data from our awardees to track progress.
Our programs work collectively to improve outcomes. To show how our programs work together to improve health outcomes at the national level, we:
- Gather data annually on health outcomes at a state and national level. For example, we analyze data on maternal and infant health and childhood obesity. This helps us measure progress in improving our Nation’s maternal and child health.
- Gather program-level data to link our program work to these state and national health outcomes. For example, when our programs show women and children receiving preventive care, fewer women smoking during pregnancy, or more kids physically active, then we know national health outcomes should be improving.
We lead.
We provide expertise and guidance to state public health agencies, national organizations, and community stakeholders.
We support the development of national Preventive Guidelines and Screenings for Women, Children, and Youth.
We respond to emerging needs of MCH populations.
We coordinate these U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committees:
- Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality (ACIMM)
- Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC)
We engage with states, communities, families, and youth.
We work together to improve public health and health care systems for our Nation’s mothers, women, children, and families. We recognize that states, communities, and families are experts in their own needs. We listen to the lived experience of people and families who are our partners.
We look to other factors that affect health beyond medical care.
Medical care accounts for only 10-20% of overall health, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Through multiple approaches, we address other factors that affect health outcomes, such as:
- Economic stability (jobs, social services, insurance coverage)
- Education
- Social and community context (creating conditions that encourage civic participation and connections)
- Neighborhood and built environments (access to housing and healthy food)
Our investments, expertise, and partnerships contribute to building healthy people and communities.