1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Mamas First Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the maternal mortality rate varies drastically for women by race and ethnicity. On average, there are 12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births for White women, 43.5 deaths per 100,000 live births for African-American women, 32.5 deaths for American Indian and Alaskan Native women, and 14.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for women of other ethnicities. While maternal mortality disparately impacts African-American women and indigenous women, this urgent public health crisis traverses race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational background, and geography. (2) United States maternal mortality rates are the highest in the developed world and are increasing rapidly. (3) Many of these maternal deaths are likely preventable. (4) According to the National Institutes of Health, doula-assisted mothers are four times less likely to have a low-birth-weight baby, two times less likely to experience a birth complication involving themselves or their baby, and significantly more likely to initiate breastfeeding. (5) Midwife-led care is associated with cost savings, decreased rates of intervention, lower cesarean rates, lower preterm birth rates, and healthier outcomes for mothers and babies. (6) Midwives may practice in any setting, including the home, community, hospitals, clinics, or health units. 3. Medicaid coverage of services provided by doulas and midwives (a) In general Section 1905 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396d ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (29), by striking and at the end; (B) by redesignating paragraph (30) as paragraph (31); and (C) by inserting after paragraph (29) the following new paragraph: (30) services, including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services, provided by doulas and midwives (as those terms are defined in subsection (ff)) to the extent authorized under State law; and