A Fort Worth initiative working to save mothers and babies from severe pregnancy complications was awarded a $4 million state grant.<\/p>\n
My Health My Resources of Tarrant County will receive $4,081,000 over two years. MHMR is receiving the funding as part of the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator, a coalition of local universities, hospitals, nonprofits, and other partners.<\/p>\n
Leaders and supporters of the Maternal Health Accelerator gathered Tuesday to celebrate the new grant funding at TCU’s medical school campus. The accelerator traces its roots back to 2022, when Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker formed a coalition tasked with improving maternal and infant health in the city.<\/p>\n
“When I was elected, I was 37 with a 5-year-old at home, and I thought to myself, if the sacrifice is going to make sense for my family, this has to look different in leadership,” Parker said, tearing up.<\/p>\n
Parker brought together leaders from the Fort Worth region to begin tackling the issue of maternal mortality. The U.S. has the worst maternal death rate of any high-income nation. The problem is particularly acute for Black mothers, who die at a rate of nearly three times that of white women, according to the Commonwealth Fund. In Texas, there were about 28 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births between 2018 and 2022, compared to 23 deaths per 100,000 births nationally.<\/p>\n
The Maternal Health Accelerator, officially convened last year<\/a>, is working to reduce severe obstetric complications by more than 20% over three years. One of the accelerator’s first major initiatives has focused on reducing the need for blood transfusions in pregnant and postpartum moms. The group has begun distributing free, over-the-counter iron pills to moms across North Texas. The accelerator estimates that more than 27,000 iron supplements<\/a> have been distributed across Dallas and Tarrant counties as of June 2026.<\/p>\n