Tag: Advocacy

Protecting Health Care for Moms and Babies is Non-Negotiable

Over the last several months, we at 1,000 Days watched closely as policymakers sought to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For young children and their families, high-quality health care coverage is a foundational investment in healthier and more prosperous futures.

Thanks to the ACA, all health insurance plans – including employer-based plans – must provide women and children with health services during pregnancy, childbirth, infancy and beyond. And no woman can be denied coverage or charged higher costs because of pre-existing conditions like breast cancer, pregnancy, C-sections, and diabetes.

But efforts to repeal the ACA puts this all at risk.

As the House Republicans put forth their proposal to repeal and replace the ACA in early March – the American Health Care Act – 1,000 Days and its community mobilized and took action. Thousands of people spoke out and told Congress to protect comprehensive health insurance for women and young children. Dozens of people shared with us their personal stories of why health care matters.

In the end, the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives called off the vote on the American Health Care Act. This means that, for now, millions of hard-working families with young children will not have to pay more money for lower quality health insurance. A later version of the proposed bill even threatened to remove such basic services as maternity care and pediatric visits.

While the House bill stalled, this looks to be just the beginning.

Even now, on the eve of the congressional recess, rumors are circulating that the House will again try to pass a health care repeal bill. As such, 1,000 Days and its community will remain vigilant.

Earlier this week we delivered our community’s petition signatures and personal stories to Members of Congress to let them know that we are watching what they do next.

Ultimately, the health of moms and babies must be a national priority. This means ensuring that women have the health coverage they need to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. This is non-negotiable.

Couldn’t have done it without ACA

My son Diego surprised us all when he was born in April 2015, seven weeks before his due date.

After an otherwise uneventful pregnancy, during which I was fortunate to receive top rate prenatal care, his pre-term delivery came quickly and unexpectedly, without much warning.

My husband and I weren’t ready for his arrival, simply because we thought we had more time. We didn’t have a car seat, Diego’s crib was still in a box, and my husband and I spent the minutes between contractions searching the internet as we tried to decide on a middle name.

As parents, it was one thing that we were not prepared. But more importantly, Diego wasn’t ready for his own arrival. Born at 33 weeks, weighing just over five pounds, his lungs were not fully matured and he did not understand the basic survival technique of how to eat on his own, a skill developed in the third trimester.

Diego spent 17 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Our family is thankful for the care he received there and the support that we were given as new (and scared) parents.

Although his care was invaluable to us, it did come with a specific price tag: Diego’s two-week hospital stay approached $300,000.

We were lucky that Diego didn’t suffer from any enduring health problems – he was simply born too early. But many infants who spend time in the NICU require more intensive procedures or longer hospital stays.

Their hospital bills can quickly add up to well over a million dollars.

In 2009, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 59 percent of all workers (and their families) covered by employer health plans had a lifetime limit on their health insurance benefits. This means that there was a maximum dollar amount health insurance companies agreed to pay. If you surpassed that amount, then the cost for health services came out of your own pocket.

While those limits varied (and sometimes were as low as $1 million), many infants with NICU stays reached their lifetime limits on health insurance before they even left the hospital.

With the passage of the ACA, lifetime limits were prohibited, alleviating that concern for families of pre-term infants and others facing medical complications.

Because Diego was born before he learned how to eat on his own, he spent the first week of his life being fed through a feeding tube. As I knew the benefits of breast milk, particularly for a pre-term infant, I was intent on breastfeeding Diego.

While some moms who experience pre-term labor have difficulty producing breast milk, I was relieved that my hospital was supportive of my goal to breastfeed, lending me a breast pump to use in the hospital within an hour of delivery.

Outside of the hospital, I was also fortunate to benefit from the ACA provision that requires health insurers to cover the costs of a breast pump for new moms. Without this support, many new moms are unable to purchase effective breast pumps, making it impossible for them to meet their own breastfeeding goals.

When Diego was released from the hospital, he was able to effectively feed from a bottle but we still struggled during our many attempted breastfeeding sessions.

Discouraged, I was thankful to find out from a friend that the ACA also required health insurers to provide access to lactation support services. I credit the supportive and skilled assistance of a local lactation consultant for saving my breastfeeding relationship.

When I returned to work after my paid maternity leave, I was also provided time to pump during the work day – a right protected under the ACA. These key provisions allowed me to meet – and even exceed – my initial breastfeeding goals.

Our family felt lucky to have the support and care that both Diego and I needed during such a vulnerable period in our lives. But it shouldn’t be left to luck.

As the healthcare debate continues in the halls of Congress and beyond, it is critical that the United States maintains health coverage for all, regardless of employment or income, and that that health insurance is affordable and comprehensive, providing the coverage needed for children and their families to thrive.

Any effort to eliminate the protections I benefitted from would have detrimental effects for moms and babies everywhere.

And that is why I added my name to the petition: Don’t Let Congress Take Away Your Healthcare.

Reflecting on 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, we at 1,000 Days are struck by the important work that has been accomplished – and how much is left to be done. Over the past year we have continued to fight for a healthier future for moms and babies here in the U.S. and around the world. We launched new findings and reports, we worked with new partners and champions, we grew our team – we even added two new babies to our 1,000 Days family!

Here are a few of our highlights from the last year:

  • In January we hand-delivered over 230,000+ petition signatures in support of paid family leave to members of Congress.
  • In April – at an event featuring Bill Gates – we launched a groundbreaking study providing a roadmap for how the world can accelerate progress against malnutrition.
  • Also in April, we sent a letter to President Obama – signed by over 100 athletes – in support of all children receiving a fair start to life with good nutrition.
  • In August we launched our Babies Unite video series in support of ending malnutrition worldwide (which has received over 400,000 views and counting!)
  • In September we released a first-of-its-kind report on nutritional health of America’s mothers, infants and toddlers.
  • In November we urged the presidential candidates to prioritize paid family leave and encouraged the FDA to regulate misleading infant formula marketing.
  • In December we presented findings from qualitative research we conducted to better understand the realities of the first 1,000 days among low-income families in the U.S.

This work would not have been possible without the incredible support of our partners and supporters. You help power our work at 1,000 Days, whether we’re pushing for a national paid family leave policy, fighting for greater investment in programs that save lives of children around the world, or supporting and promoting every woman’s right to breastfeed.

We’ve come a long way this past year, laying the groundwork in our fight for healthy moms and babies. But, there is still more to be done. We look forward to continuing to help build a healthier and more prosperous future for children and their families in the year to come, for there is no better investment we can make than in the health and well-being of our children.

FDA Takes Steps Against Misleading Infant Formula Marketing

More than 1,250 Americans joined 1,000 Days in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) effort to protect families from misleading infant formula marketing.

For the first time ever, the FDA is considering to ask infant formula manufacturers to substantiate claims they make on product labels and marketing materials. They want to encourage makers of formula to provide strong, scientific evidence to back up the health claims they make about their products.

Unsubstantiated claims like “reduces colic” or “aids digestion” are confusing to families who are looking to make decisions about what to feed their babies.

Families who depend on infant formula need to know that the products they are feeding their babies are as effective as the companies claim. That is why the FDA’s recommendations are an important first step in protecting families from bogus health claims made by manufacturers of infant formula.

1,000 Days submitted a letter in support of the FDA’s recommendations and also invited its community of grassroots supporters to add their name to the following letter. And in less than two weeks, 1,259 Americans added their name.

 

November 8, 2016

Susan T. Mayne
Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
c/o Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

Re: Draft Guidance for Industry on Substantiation for Structure/Function Claims in Infant Formula Labels and Labeling

Dear Dr. Mayne,

It is encouraging to see that for the first time ever, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking infant formula companies to substantiate the claims made on infant formula labels.

As moms, dads, and caregivers, we have a right to know that the infant formula we buy is safe and effective. We need to have confidence that the claims made on formula labels are accurate and supported by scientific evidence. Companies need to step up and provide credible scientific research to back up the claims they make on their formula, such as “reduces colic” or “aids digestion.”

Given that so many babies in the U.S. rely on infant formula for their nutrition, we believe the FDA also needs to provide stronger oversight of these products and require companies to provide scientific proof that their products deliver the benefits that they claim.

As consumers and parents, we need accurate, credible information about what we’re feeding our babies. Our government needs to do all that it can to protect families from bogus health claims made by manufacturers of formula.

We, the undersigned, applaud the FDA’s proposed Substantiation for Structure/Function Claims Made in Infant Formula Labels and Labeling: Guidance for Industry and encourage the FDA to do more in protecting parents and babies from misleading marketing.

After all, the health and well-being of our country’s babies are at stake.

Sincerely,

1,259 Americans