Improving maternal health starts long before pregnancy. Dr. Julie Moldenhauer, Dr. Katherine Deans, and Sharon Mills Higgins explore how investing in girls’ and women’s health across the lifespan can lead to healthier mothers, babies and families. We discuss maternity care deserts, gaps in mental health support and how research, technology, policy, and stronger health systems can help close care gaps and build healthier futures for generations to come.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:

Julie S. Moldenhauer, MD, PMH-C, FACOG, FACMGG, Executive Director, Nemours Institute for Maternal Fetal Health

Katherine Deans, MD, MHSc, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Surgeon-in-Chief, Nemours Children's Health

Sharon Mills Higgins, Chair, Board of Managers, Nemours Children’s Health, and Chair Emeritus, National Board of Trustees, March of Dimes

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

What does the latest research reveal about the state of maternal health in the United States, and what can be done to improve it? Christina Lojek, Senior Research Manager, The Harris Poll, shares findings from the 2026 State of Maternal Health survey, highlighting persistent gaps in insurance coverage, patient education, postpartum support and paid leave. Then, KJ Hertz, Senior Director, Federal Affairs, March of Dimes, and Daniella Gratale, MA, Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs, Nemours Children's Health, explore federal policy efforts to address maternal-fetal health challenges and advance systemic changes that make pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care safer and more supportive.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:

Christina Lojek, Senior Research Manager, The Harris Poll

KJ Hertz, Senior Director, Federal Affairs, March of Dimes

Daniella Gratale, MA, Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs, Nemours Children's Health

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

State of Maternal Health In America Study

Sign up for texted maternal-child policy updates from March of Dimes by texting the word ADVOCATE to 3-5-6-5-0-2

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Leadership Dialogues is a limited series from Well Beyond Medicine in which Larry Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, President and CEO of Nemours Children's Health, joins host Carol Vassar to engage some of today's most influential voices in child health, policy and community change. Together, they explore the ideas, partnerships and cross-sector solutions shaping healthier futures for children.

In the opening episode, Dr. Moss and Carol Vassar sit down with Carol Naughton, CEO of Purpose Built Communities — a national leader in holistic neighborhood revitalization — for a conversation that goes well beyond the clinic. They explore how housing, education, economic opportunity and deep community investment work together to transform the environments where children live, learn and grow, and why that transformation is essential to advancing Whole Child Health.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:
Larry Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, President and CEO, Nemours Children's Health
Carol Naughton, CEO, Purpose Built Communities

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.