Maternal Health Episodes

On today's episode, Denise Hanisch from the South Dakota Department of Health shares the state's maternal and infant health priorities, and ASTHO's Sanaa Akbarali highlights takeaways from the Region 7 Maternal Health ECHO Summit.

On today's episode, Senior Advisor for Public Health at MaineHealth, former state health official, and ASTHO Alumni Society Representative, Dora Anne Mills, tells us about the rapidly escalating rural maternity crisis, beyond just hospital closures.

What happens when health coverage becomes unaffordable, and who’s stepping up to lead in moments like this? This episode connects two powerful public health stories.First, we break down the ACA enhanced premium tax credits: what they were, who they helped, and what’s at stake now that they’ve expired. Catherine Jones, senior analyst for government affairs at ASTHO, will explain how these pandemic-era subsidies dramatically expanded access to marketplace coverage, helping middle-income famili...

If the United States brought home a report card on maternal and infant health, it would need a serious parent–teacher conference. In this episode, Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes, breaks down their 2025 Report Card on birth outcomes, and the headline is hard to ignore: the nation earns a D+ for preterm birth, with half of states receiving a D or F. But this isn’t just about grades. It’s about what’s driving poor outcomes and what public health leaders can actually do about it. Warren, a former state and federal public health leader, also shares how officials can use the report card as more than a headline, but as a tool to build urgency, strengthen partnerships across maternal health, chronic disease, and Medicaid, and push forward policy and funding priorities.

As flu cases climb across the country and pediatric deaths rise, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, ASTHO member and Michigan’s chief medical executive, joins us to break down what this flu season means for families, health agencies, and health care systems.

Rachel Lehman, acting director of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)’s Technical Resources Assistance Center and Information Exchange (TRACIE), celebrates 10 years of the Center’s existence and discusses how it provides states and territories with timely information and technical assistance; Peter Orton, director of media design at the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explains...

Dr. Susan Kansagra, ASTHO chief medical officer, outlines the recent recall of Bicillin; Marie Stratton, Overdose Data to Action program manager at the Maryland Department of Health, explains...

Rich Hamburg, executive director of the Safe States Alliance, reflects on his career in public health as he prepares to retire; Marita Chilton, senior director of Accreditation and Recognition at the Public Health Accreditation Board, tells us about...

Melissa Magstadt, secretary of health in the South Dakota Department of Health, tells us how the state is using a recently awarded maternal health innovation grant; Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health Policy, previews legislative trends for...

Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and an ASTHO Member, discusses her state’s updated data dashboards; Dr. Jessica Nelson, program director and epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health,...

Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president-elect and Alabama state health officer, discusses his state’s new maternal autopsy program; Calliana Thomas, director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the New York State Department of Health, tells us...

This special episode of Public Health Review Morning Edition revisits a popular episode from June 3rd, 2024. Chris Teale, a journalist with Route Fifty, discusses a federal rule that requires websites to adopt standards outlined in the Americans with...

Chris Teale, a journalist with Route Fifty, discusses a federal rule that requires websites to adopt standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act; Courtney Youngbar, ASTHO director of Environmental Health, tells us about the concern over...