On Mother’s Day, the White House launched a new website, Moms.gov.
Members of the Trump administration announced the website during a press conference on Monday, calling it one of three new initiatives to support mothers, including proposed rules on employer-based coverage of infertility treatment, IVF, and childcare reforms to address access and affordability.
Summary of the Press Conference
President Trump opened the press conference from the Oval Office, starting off by addressing new rules to incentivize employers in providing coverage of IVF infertility benefits, also noting Trump RX as a source of reduced-cost IVF drugs.
Dr. Oz addressed the fact that the birth rate is concerningly low, and 1 in 3 Americans are “underbabied.” He noted the U.S. has a person “replacement rate” of 2.1 – meaning more people are needed to replace our declining and aging population.
Dr. Oz also noted the maternal mortality rate is 30% higher in rural America than in urban America. He argued that Rural Health Transformation dollars will help provide access to new ultrasound probes (being tested in Alabama), rural health provider training, and supporting urban health systems in “adopting” rural clinics to provide telehealth consultations. Dr. Oz noted that this is a bipartisan effort and that Democratic governors are also engaged.
Olivia Walton, a maternal health leader from Arkansas, addressed the country’s maternal mortality crisis, including the issue of rural maternal healthcare access.
Dr. Dorthy Fink of the Office of Women’s Health, shared the administration’s Perinatal Improvement Collaborative, a network of 250 hospitals which has reduced maternal mortality over 40%, and also announced the launch of Moms.gov.
Assistant Secretary Alex Adams of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced a child care reform package framed as child care choice, including coverage for home-based childcare, support for parents who stay home to care for their babies, and church-based child care.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described environmental factors as a cause of declining fertility rates and sperm counts. He also explained Moms.gov as a win for the MAHA and pro-life movement as a “one-stop shopping for IVF, for prenatal care, for postnatal care, for nutrition, for baby formula, and of course, for TrumpRx.”
More about Moms.gov
The top of the Moms.gov website says, “Addressing the needs of mothers and fathers who face difficult or unexpected pregnancies and ensuring the wellbeing of mothers and the health of American families.”
The website prominently links to “Pregnancy Centers” for support with pregnancy testing and other services, including providing material goods such as diapers at no cost. This section links to an outside website, Option Line. At first glance Option Line appears to provide education about various options for addressing pregnancy, including abortion. However the website and 24/7 counseling services are run by HeartBeat International, a pro-life non-profit organization.
Also prominently displayed is a section about Federally Qualified Health Care Centers (FQHCs), which the site notes provide prenatal care and maternity care among other services. This section links to the HRSA website to locate an FQHC.
The site then includes images in a carousel format that a person can scroll through (though the scrolling feature may not be evident to all visitors), with resources on Preconception Health, Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Mental Health, Adoption, and Early Head Start..
Then, the site goes on to prominently list information about nutrition during pregnancy, and “Trump Accounts” which provide newborns with $1000 from the U.S. Treasury that they can access when they turn 18, with an enrollment button.
Finally, prominently, is a section on TrumpRX, which explains how people can access infertility treatments.
The site then lists links to various “Additional Resources” for: Child Welfare, Safe Sleep, Substance Use Disorders, Infections, Health Conditions (where maternal mental health is briefly mentioned, only as “Symptoms of Depression Among Women” and Additional Exposures.
Our Response
While we applaud the administration for hearing concerns about maternal mortality, maternity care deserts, and other critical needs of pregnant and postpartum women and families, we also recognize that much more must be done, including but not limited to, providing paid leave and no-cost maternity care. We will continue to track and report on these efforts.
