Last Updated on January 15, 2024 by Lori Pace
It is a great way to improve the quality of women’s lives and their well-being by investing in maternal health research and finding grants for research is key.
This is essential to provide high-quality healthcare for expectant moms at a lower cost to the government. Many federal, state and private organizations have committed themselves to improving maternal healthcare in the United States. These grant-funded organizations encourage scientists and researchers to find better ways to provide healthcare services for pregnant mothers.
These organizations support countrywide programs as well as initiatives to support maternal health. These funding institutes have the following main goal of improving:
- Maternal health during, after and before pregnancy
- Safety and quality of maternity care
- Women’s health all through their lives
Major Maternal Health Research Grants
Let’s look at the most prominent maternal health grants that are awarded to US researchers for improving the US maternal healthcare system.
1 – Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) and Aim-Community Care (AIM-CCI)
These programs are important in helping to support safe maternal care and reduce maternal deaths and serious disorders. These programs aim to create “maternal security bundles”, which are simple, evidence-based practices that improve patient outcomes.
AIM supports the creation of maternal safety bundles specifically for maternity hospitals. These bundles can be used to resolve common, but potentially dangerous, maternity complications such as:
- High blood pressure
- Hemorrhage during pregnancy
- Cesarean births
- Blood clots in veins
- Women with Opioid Use disorder needing obstetric care
- Delivery-related ethnic or racial disparities can be reduction
AIM-CCI supports maternal safety bundles in the healthcare sector. It also works with community-based organizations, outpatient clinics and other healthcare providers to improve maternity care.
2 – Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Behavioral Disorders Program (MDRBD)
Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Behavioral Disorders Program aims to address maternal mental health conditions that frequently affect pregnant women.
These are the main objectives of this program:
- Improving the mental health of postpartum and pregnant women, and ensure their infants’ emotional and social development
- Enhancing the ability of healthcare providers to identify and treat maternal mental health conditions early
- Referring women to treatment and care by professionals who use culturally-appropriate and evidence-based practices.
- Access to community-based, affordable treatment and support services for recovery, locally and via telehealth, is essential, particularly in rural areas and those who are medically underserved.
3 – Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs provide pregnant women and their families with the necessary skills and resources to raise healthy, happy children.
This research grant is in collaboration with Administration for Children and Families. It provides funding for the development and implementation of voluntary, evidence-based programs that address the common needs of the community.
Maternal health research grants have the following main goals:
- Improve maternal and child health
- Prevent child neglect and abuse
- Encourage positive parenting
- Promotion of school readiness and child development
- Prenatal and preventive services
- Assisting mothers in choosing the best breastfeeding practices and caring for their babies
- Help for parents to recognize milestones in their child’s development and behavior.
- Encourage parents to use positive parenting techniques
- Assisting new mothers in setting goals, helping them to continue their education, finding work and providing child care solutions.
4 – Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program
The US’s largest federal block grant program is the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program. Title V funds are a great source of funding and support to promote and improve the health and wellbeing of mothers, children and families, as well as children with special needs.
The Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program has the following goals:
- Access to high-quality healthcare for mother/child, particularly in low-income or limited availability areas
- Initiatives that reduce infant mortality, avoid preventable diseases and increase the number of properly immunized children.
- Access to prenatal and postnatal care, particularly for women who are pregnant at-risk or are from a low-income family
- Providing more opportunities for health assessment, follow-up diagnostics and treatment services, especially for low-income children
- Access to preventive and child-care services, as well as rehabilitative services, is easier for children who have special medical needs.
Conclusion
These are the best ways to apply for and receive maternal health research grants in America. These grants are intended to improve the quality of infant and maternal healthcare services in the United States.
