With ‘Healthy Babies Equity Act,’ Maryland Will Join Other States that Provide Prenatal Care Regardless of Immigration Status

Maria Vicente has no health insurance. During five pregnancies the only time she saw a doctor was in the delivery room. She lost two children from lack of prenatal care and complications giving birth. The 37-year-old fled poverty in Guatemala for a better life in the United States. Since immigrating in 2006, she has worked as a housekeeper or in construction, as does her husband, when jobs are available and they are healthy. Vicente volunteers to distribute food to people in need like herself, whose lives have been upended by pandemic-related social, economic and health issues, which hit her majority Latino community in Prince George’s County particularly hard. According to the Maryland Department of Health, Langley Park has consistently had the highest COVID incidence rates in the state.