The relatively large number of American women who die due to childbirth is one of the little-known facts in our country. In a nation where we spend exorbitant amounts on healthcare, we have the highest maternal mortality rate of any other developed country. Word, however, is getting out that women are increasingly susceptible of dying during childbirth with a surge in articles in major publications and of hospitals, healthcare workers, and researchers working together to solve this problem.

According to ProPublica, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee voted this week to request $50 million in new funding for programs aimed at reducing maternal mortality. $38 million would be allotted to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau which is run by the Health Resources & Services Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining $12 million would be dispersed to the Centers for Disease Control to aid in enhanced data collection and to help state health boards to collect better maternal mortality and morbidity data.

The proposed funding is a bipartisan effort that is working to decrease maternal mortality and to also discover the reasons why the number of maternal deaths remains so high in the United States. While the proposed $50 million funding amount will immeasurably help those committed to saving mothers, the funding still needs to be passed by Congress where funding totals may be decreased.