Maternal Health Awareness Day is Jan. 23

Published: January 23, 2026

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

For the sixth time in Kentucky and fifth time in Indiana, Maternal Health Awareness Day will be observed on Jan. 23. It’s a day dedicated to raising awareness about health, safety and mortality issues that continue to affect women before, during and after childbirth.

Kentucky and Indiana rank among the worst states for maternal mortality, according to the March of Dimes’s 2018 to 2022 data listing. Kentucky is the fifth worst, with a rate of 34.6 deaths per 100,000; while Indiana is ninth worst at 30.9. Each year, nearly 52,000 babies are born in Kentucky and around 79,000 in Indiana.

Maternal health includes pregnancy but also the first year after delivery. In Kentucky, 90% of maternal deaths are considered preventable and 58% happen between 43 days and one year after delivery, according to the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

“Most people think maternal health means only while patients are pregnant or in the hospital after delivering,” said R. Paige Walker, M.D., gynecologist, Norton Women’s Specialists. “We can help patients have a safe and healthy delivery, but we need the community’s help after that.”

Three things the community can do:

• Be aware of the risks leading to maternal health issues: high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, obesity, substance abuse and older age during pregnancy.
• Know the warning signs of issues during and after pregnancy, including fever, severe or repeated headaches, and intense stomach pain.
• Pay attention to women’s mental health before, during and after pregnancy — especially depression and anxiety.

“In Kentucky especially, a factor in 51% of maternal deaths was substance abuse,” Dr. Walker said. “Getting pregnant women help through a stabilization program can help prevent issues later.”

An option for this is the Norton Maternal Opiate Substance Treatment (MOST) Program, which provides hospital stabilization/detoxification (detox) services and an outpatient recovery program for pregnant patients with substance use disorder.

When choosing where to receive prenatal care and deliver a baby, it’s good to ask what safety precautions are in place.

Norton Women’s Care consistently works to improve maternal health through:

• An ongoing initiative to reduce cesarean section deliveries
• Procedures to quickly treat patients who experience hypertension and hemorrhage emergencies after delivery
• Around-the-clock obstetric specialists at Norton Hospital and Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital
• Doulas, made possible thanks to support from Aetna Better Health of Kentucky through the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation and Edie Nixon through the Norton Healthcare Foundation, who help patients at Norton Hospital and Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital before, during and after childbirth.

“Having a safe childbirth experience and reducing maternal mortality rates go hand-in-hand,” Dr. Walker said. “When medical providers and the community can come together, we can improve lives.”