First Lady Tammy Murphy Convenes Hospital Leaders In Commemoration of 7th Annual New Jersey Maternal Health Awareness Day

TRENTON – In recognition of Maternal Health Awareness Day in New Jersey, First Lady Tammy Murphy today convened hospital leaders from across the state for a roundtable discussion on maternal health care priorities for the coming year. During the discussion, the First Lady, Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority (MIHIA) President and CEO Lisa Asare, and the hospital representatives participated in an open dialogue on ongoing efforts to transform New Jersey into the national gold standard for maternal health, including through the work of Nurture NJ; the expansion of New Jersey's universal nurse home visitation program, Family Connects NJ; the establishment of MIHIA; and clinical quality improvement strategies.

Prior to the roundtable discussion, each hospital partner signed the 2025 Nurture NJ Maternal Health Awareness Day Pledge, formally committing birthing hospitals statewide to actionable steps that will bring New Jersey closer to the goals of Nurture NJ. The pledge seeks to implement nationally-recognized accepted best practices to address the leading causes of pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related death and to promote shared decision-making and team-based care. These best practices include implementing Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) patient safety bundles for a leading cause like cardiac conditions and substance use; implementing Team Birth, a shared decision-making model; furthering integrating doula team-based care within the hospital system; and creating integrated birthing provider groups.

“As we observe the 7th annual Maternal Health Awareness Day in New Jersey and the 6th anniversary of our Nurture NJ initiative, I am proud to join with all 46 of New Jersey's labor and delivery hospitals to reaffirm our shared commitment to making New Jersey the national gold standard of maternal and infant health,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “There is no doubt that New Jersey’s maternal and infant health care system is in a stronger position than it was just seven years ago, and that progress is thanks to the dedication of our many Nurture NJ partners. Today’s roundtable discussion and collective pledge continue to propel our work toward our goal of making New Jersey the safest, most equitable state in the nation to deliver and raise a baby.”

"Every aspect of a person's life influences their pregnancy journey. Today, we recommit to our comprehensive approach to maternal health – one that includes high-quality clinical care, community support, and access to basic needs like healthy food and housing," said Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, MD, MSc, DFASAM.

“This Maternal Health Awareness Day, it was a pleasure to join dedicated professionals to address the challenges faced by labor and delivery hospitals across New Jersey,” said Lisa Asare, President and CEO of the New Jersey Maternal Health Innovation Authority. “Our insightful discussion provided a deeper understanding of how MIHIA and other state departments can better support these vital institutions. MIHIA looks forward to strengthening our partnerships with hospital systems statewide to ensure mothers and babies have a safer future in our state.”

AIM bundles are collections of evidence-informed best practices, developed by multidisciplinary experts, which address clinically specific conditions in pregnant and postpartum people. Substance use disorder is the leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths, and similarly, cardiovascular disease and its complications in pregnancy are a leading cause for pregnancy-related deaths, especially for Black women. Shared decision-making and team-based care ensures that all members of a patient’s birthing team—obstetricians, midwives, nurses, doulas and other healthcare providers—are well-coordinated, ensuring they can create a supportive environment that can enhance patient safety and health equity.

On January 23, 2018, Governor Murphy issued a proclamation recognizing January 23 as Maternal Health Awareness Day in New Jersey, making New Jersey the first state to designate a day to raise public awareness about maternal health and promote maternal safety. One year later, on the second annual observance of Maternal Health Awareness Day, First Lady Tammy Murphy launched Nurture NJ, as a statewide program committed to reducing the maternal mortality rates in New Jersey and ensuring equitable care among women and children of all races and ethnicities. In January 2021, the First Lady unveiled the Nurture NJ Maternal and Infant Health Strategic Plan, a blueprint to make New Jersey the safest, most equitable state in the nation to deliver and raise a baby.

Since the first Maternal Health Awareness Day, New Jersey has made significant progress in maternal and infant health care and outcomes including: seeing over 70 pieces of maternal and infant health legislation signed by Governor Murphy; starting or completing over half of the Nurture NJ Maternal and Infant Health Strategic Plan recommendations; establishing the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, tasked with overseeing the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center based in Trenton and will be the arm of government that continues the vital work of Nurture NJ past the Murphy Administration; and launching Family Connects NJ, the most robust-in-the-nation universal nurse home visitation program to ensure that every new parent is visited by a nurse in their home for free within two weeks after bringing home a new baby. Through these groundbreaking policies and programs, New Jersey has become a national leader in the fight against the maternal and infant health crisis.

For a full copy of the 2025 Nurture NJ Maternal Health Awareness Day Pledge, click here.

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