Moms.gov falls short of needed resources for all

If you ask Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid for the Trump administration, one of the hardships facing American families right now is that "1 in 3 Americans are under-babied." According to the former TV host, "under-babied" means "that you don’t have any children or less children than you would normally want to have."

However, with the rising cost of living, along with federal cuts to programs like SNAP and WIC that help families get by, the nation is not just "under-babied." Mothers and families with children are undersupported.

Oz made his comment along with remarks from President Donald Trump at a maternal healthcare event in the Oval Office in May, the day after launching Moms.gov.

The administration presents its website as a one-stop shop dedicated to supporting "the health and well-being of mothers and their families." The Make America Healthy Again mantra is loud and clear as you navigate through the site, with links to pregnancy support services, nutrition, health centers, prescriptions through TrumpRx and information on how Trump Accounts can help build "long-term" financial security.

Yet, the website falls short for mothers in different mental health and socioeconomic situations. The One Big Beautiful Bill cut Medicaid funding by almost $1 trillion over 10 years. This is troubling because 41.5% of births in the United States are covered by Medicaid, as of 2023. Those percentages are far higher among Black mothers (64.5%) and Hispanic mothers (58.8%).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. And according to data from the Long Island Health Collaborative, Black mothers have the highest percentage of infants who die before their first birthday among all races in Nassau County. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, legislation aimed to address this issue, underwent a name change earlier this year and is now called The Momnibus Act. Due to the Trump administration's fight against DEI language, the word "Black" was removed. Doing so is a bold refusal to acknowledge the disparities that many Black women face.

Moms.gov fails to directly mention mental health as a pillar of a healthy pregnancy, nor does it directly mention mental health across diverse groups. Studies have shown that Black and Hispanic mothers experience higher rates of depressive symptoms, and were less likely to initiate and to receive follow-up treatment for maternal mental health issues.

There are also language barriers to consider, for some Hispanic mothers, among others. And the CDC reports that Hispanic women face a higher risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect, like spina bifida. Increasing folic acid in diets can help, but group-specific nutritional information like this is missing from the site.

Moms.gov claims to be a universal resource for American families but it is missing resources for mothers who experience unique hurdles. Mothers and families deserve support no matter their ethnicity or economic status.