A need to understand how maternal health programs address maternal health issues in the United States.

Maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity are important public health issues. There is a pressing need for more information on how maternal health strategies and interventions can address these issues.

An invaluable look at how maternal health programs are working to address maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) plays an important role in ensuring maternal health in the United States. NORC supports HRSA through our Maternal Health Portfolio Evaluation and Capacity Building Support project. The project collected quantitative and qualitative data on HRSA’s maternal health awardees. The evaluation focused on five HRSA-funded programs:

• The State Maternal Health Innovation (SMHI) Program
  
• The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)
  
• The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) – Community Care Initiative (CCI)
  
• The Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program
  
• The Supporting Maternal Health Innovation (MHI) Program
  

NORC designed and conducted the portfolio evaluation, which concluded in 2025. We also provided evaluation technical assistance to the HRSA awardees. The portfolio evaluation was informed by six overarching questions that assessed the effectiveness of the HRSA awardees’ activities, barriers and facilitators to implementation, opportunities for scaling and spreading effective program interventions, the degree to which the programs addressed the elements of prevention, and the overall impact of the portfolio on maternal health outcomes.