BOSTON ( WWLP ) — Governor Maura Healey, advocates, and onlookers celebrated the passage of a new maternal health law at a signing ceremony at the State House on Monday.

This law looks to improve birthing outcomes by providing pathways to doula and lactation consultant certification, increasing access to postpartum depression screening, and removing barriers to opening birthing centers.

Representative Marjorie Decker was one of the chief advocates for this bill. “This bill acknowledges that women and birthing people have not been fully served by our healthcare systems,” said Decker at the ceremony. “It’s evident in our national health and birthing outcome data that when we compare our country to other countries of similar economies and democracies we are not doing well and the disparities are clear.”

Despite 98% of Massachusetts residents having health insurance, and despite the state recently being named the best state in the country for women, the rate of severe maternal morbidity almost doubled over the last decade.

This is especially true for women of color, as black women have astronomically higher rates of complications.

“As a black woman and a labor and delivery nurse, I’ve seen the disparities in maternal health outcomes up close,” said Tiffany Vassell, who spoke on behalf of the Neighborhood Birth Center. “I’m clear that the whole system, from patients to payers, benefits when we have equitable access to the midwifery model of care.”

This law looks to address this inequity by providing access to services more often used by people of color, such as doula and midwife care.

At this ceremony, Governor Healey committed to making sure the changes in this bill are effectively implemented.

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