NEWARK, NJ — Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is proud to announce that New Jersey has been selected as one of only ten states nationwide to participate in the Midwifery Policy Collective, a national initiative supporting state-led efforts to strengthen community birth systems and improve maternal health through policy and systems change. The Collective is funded by the Pritzker Children's Initiative (PCI) and coordinated nationally by the Institute for Medicaid Innovation, in partnership with leading midwifery, birth center, and birth equity organizations from across the country.
The 15-month initiative will convene families, midwives, doulas, physicians, hospitals, birth centers, public health leaders, researchers, educators, advocates, and policymakers around a shared vision: ensuring that every family in New Jersey has access to safe, respectful, high-quality maternity care and a full range of evidence-based birth options.
New Jersey continues to face significant maternal health challenges, with Black women experiencing disproportionately high rates of pregnancy-related complications and maternal mortality. Expanding access to the midwifery model of care is one important strategy for improving outcomes, increasing patient choice, and creating a more equitable maternity care system.
Research has shown that community midwifery is associated with excellent maternal and infant outcomes, lower rates of unnecessary interventions, high patient satisfaction, and strong continuity of care. When community-based midwives are fully integrated into the health care system and supported by strong relationships with hospitals and other providers, families benefit from safer, more coordinated care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
"This initiative is about much more than expanding midwifery," said Dr. Winifred Smith-Jenkins, Director of Early Childhood Policy and Advocacy at ACNJ and Co-Chair of the New Jersey Midwifery Policy Collective. "It is about building a maternal health system that works better for families. By bringing together diverse partners around a shared vision, we have an opportunity to strengthen relationships, improve coordination across systems, expand access to community-based care, and help address the persistent inequities that continue to impact far too many families, especially Black mothers and babies."
The New Jersey Midwifery Policy Collective was developed through a collaborative planning process involving more than 35 organizations and leaders from across the state. The coalition reflects a broad range of expertise and lived experience, including practicing midwives, physicians, doulas, maternal health advocates, researchers, educators, community organizations, health systems, and families.
"This work recognizes that no single profession or organization can solve our maternal health challenges alone," said Vicki Hedley, CPM, CM, MA, Co-Chair of the New Jersey Midwifery Policy Collective. "Real progress happens when we work together to build a coordinated system where community birth, hospitals, public health agencies, and policymakers are all working toward the same goal: healthier mothers, healthier babies, and healthier communities."
The Collective will organize its work through six statewide workgroups:
- Policy & Public Affairs
- Birth Center Sustainability
- Community Midwifery Workforce Development
- Smooth Transitions™: Community-Hospital Integration
- Community Engagement
- Insurance Reimbursement and Midwifery Liability Insurance Strategies
Together, these workgroups will develop policy recommendations, educational resources, workforce development strategies, reimbursement solutions, quality improvement initiatives, and public engagement efforts designed to strengthen New Jersey's maternal health system.
A key focus of the initiative will be advancing policies that support stronger integration between community-based and hospital-based maternity care, helping ensure families experience seamless, coordinated care regardless of where they choose to give birth.
Over the coming weeks, the Collective will invite organizations, professionals, community leaders, and individuals with lived experience to participate in one or more of the statewide workgroups. Participants will help shape recommendations that can improve maternal health, strengthen the midwifery workforce, expand access to community birth, and build a more equitable, family-centered maternity care system for generations to come.
In order to give all children a strong and equitable start in life, New Jersey must begin with an intentional focus on eliminating racial inequities and disparities in access to essential supports, according to a new report, 
