Submit a Practice/Policy to the MCH Innovations Database Spring 2026 Review!

AMCHP’s Innovation Hub is now accepting submissions to be included in the MCH Innovations Database Spring 2026 Review! Is your program, policy, or tool focused on maternal and child health? Are you looking for a way to share your impactful work? Submitting a practice to the MCH Innovations Database allows you to: 

• Share what you are doing with others in the field; 
• Receive detailed feedback through peer-review on your practice’s development, implementation, and evaluation; and
• Connect to sources of technical assistance to help you strengthen future practice efforts.

Congress

• House Committee on Energy & Commerce: Health Subcommittee: Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain (On February 11, the Health Subcommittee on the House E&C Committee held a hearing on exploring the role that the prescription drug supply chain plays in health care affordability) 

• Senate Special Committee on Aging: The Doctor Is Out: How Washington’s Rules Drove Physicians Out of Medicine (On February 12, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing exploring how federal regulatory burdens, excessive documentation, and complex insurance rules are driving physician burnout, early retirement, and severe provider shortages) 

• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: Restoring Integrity: Preventing Fraud in Child Care Assistance Programs (On February 12, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing regarding childcare access and affordability while strengthening fraud detection) 

Executive Branch

• Administration for Children & Families: ACF Expands Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder for At-Risk Families 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Changes in timing of prenatal care initiation: United States, 2021–2024 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Weekly RSV Vaccination Dashboard 

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: 2027 Core Set of Maternal and Perinatal Health Measures for Medicaid and CHIP (Maternity Core Set)  

• Department of Health and Human Services: Secretary Kennedy Announces $100 Million Investment in Great American Recovery 

• Politico: Jay Bhattacharya named acting CDC director  

• Federal Register: Safety Standard for Crib Mattresses (The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a direct final rule updating the federal safety standards for crib mattresses. The rule will take effect on May 3 unless CPSC receives a significant adverse comment by March 16)  

Judicial Branch

• State of New York et al. v. Administration for Children and Families et al.: Preliminary Injunction Order (On February 6, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing recent restrictions on states’ access to Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) funds while the case proceeds) 

• AHA: 4 Principles, Real Impact: How Hospitals are Advancing Maternal Health 

• KFF: Alabama’s ‘Pretty Cool’ Plan for Robots in Maternity Care Sparks Debate 



• National Academies of Sciences: No Hospital, Birth Center, or Home Birth Is Risk-Free — But Better Access to Care, Quality of Care, and Care System Integration Can Improve Safety for Women and Infants During Birth, Says Report 

• The New York Times: Infant Mortality Fell for Decades. Why Did That Stop? 



• U.S. News: U.S. News Announces Plans for the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care Survey   

Upcoming Events

• February 24, 4 PM ET – Congressional Briefing on Maternal Mental Health: Celebrating 10 Years of Successful Advocacy, join the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance for their annual briefing. This year, celebrating a decade of advocacy and $106 million in federal funding for maternal mental health programs. Learn more and register.  

• March 1-4 – National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) National Conference, a convening in Washington, DC of educational programming, community building, and the latest in reproductive care. Learn more and register. 

• March 7-10 – Join us for our 2026 AMCHP Annual Conference, to be held in Washington, DC – one of the largest gatherings of MCH leaders and thinkers in the U.S. Learn more and register.  

• March 7 – Join us for our Perinatal SUD Systems Change Workshop, a skills building session in Washington, DC held in partnership with FORE Foundation and Perigee Fund. The workshop will focus on systems change innovations and responsive adaptations in perinatal SUD interventions. Registration available with full AMCHP Conference registration or for the skills building session only. Limited sponsorship available. Learn more and register. 

• March 10 – National Day of Action for Maternal Mental Health, hosted by the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, is an online campaign to advocate federal funding for maternal mental health programs. Learn more and register. 

• March 11-13 – Inaugural HHS National Women’s Health Conference, a free conference presented by the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) that will take place in Washington, DC. Learn more and register. 

• March 17-18 – Maternal Mental Health FORUM, presented by the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, is a forum to discuss progress, roadblocks, and solutions to closing gaps in maternal mental health care. Learn more and register.  

• May 27-30 – 2026 NWA Annual Education and Training Conference, an annual conference to acquire new skills and network with your peers and colleagues, along with exhibitors, who will provide WIC related products and services for participants. Learn more and register. 

• June 24-25 – Safe States 2026 Annual Injury & Violence Prevention Conference, a virtual conference for injury and violence prevention professionals to share insights and experiences with colleagues through innovative networking and dedicated learning sessions. Learn more and register. 

Additional AMCHP Resources

• Visit our Government Affairs webpage for information on our appropriations work, our Federal Policy Agenda, recordings of past Town Halls, and archives of this newsletter. 

• Explore the AMCHP Resource Library. 

• Learn about pending federal legislation to improve MCH from our Maternal & Child Health Bill Tracker. 

• Check out our MCH Policy Essential Series Learning Modules. 

• Discover innovative policies in the MCH Innovations Database. 

• Explore career opportunities at AMCHP and find additional openings in maternal and child health on the AMCHP Career Center. 

• Share the subscribe link for this digest and other AMCHP content with your network so they can stay informed!