I gave birth to my daughter Marleigh under frightening circumstances. What should have been the happiest moment of my life became the scariest. I was healthy before my pregnancy, and things seemed to be going smoothly. Until they weren’t.
In my final weeks of pregnancy, I developed symptoms I now know were due to preeclampsia, a dangerous and potentially life-threatening condition. I kept going to the hospital, sure something wasn’t right. But without a diagnosis, I was sent home again and again. It wasn’t until I insisted on more testing that I was finally admitted and diagnosed. By then, my condition had worsened. I lost a lot of blood during delivery and needed a transfusion. In those first few days, when I should have been soaking up the time and bonding with my newborn, I was exhausted and overwhelmed.
I’m here, and Marleigh is here, because NC Medicaid, North Carolina’s Medicaid program, made it possible for me to keep seeking care. Without it, I might not have gone back to the hospital. Without it, I may have tried to wait things out at home instead of advocating for myself. Medicaid meant I didn’t have to choose between the hospital bill and getting help for myself and my baby. It meant I could focus on surviving and caring for my daughter.
Today, Marleigh is thriving. I cherish every milestone, from her first laugh to trying her first foods and the first time she crawled. I know there will be so many more firsts to come. But I also know how close we came to missing them.
That’s why it’s so alarming to see Congress rushing forward on deep and harmful cuts to Medicaid. Last month, the House passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which will slash funding for Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars. And now, the Senate is poised to pass the bill, after somehow making the proposed cuts even more extreme. Here in North Carolina, more than 260,000 people could lose coverage through NC Medicaid. This is almost half the number of people who gained access to care through the state’s recent expansion of the program.
These aren’t just numbers. They’re moms, babies, grandparents and neighbors. These are people like me who simply needed help during a critical moment.
The bill would also impose harmful new work requirements on adults receiving Medicaid, raise out-of-pocket costs, and make families prove and reprove their eligibility over and over again. But these changes don’t make anyone healthier. They just create a bureaucracy that will just mean that more babies, parents, godparents, and other caregivers won’t get the care they need to survive, much less thrive.
Earlier this year, I traveled to Capitol Hill with my daughter as part of ZERO TO THREE’s Strolling Thunder event to advocate for programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Early Head Start that help families like mine. I joined 50 other families from across the country to make our voices heard. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking Congress to protect the basics.
Families should not have to fight this hard to survive childbirth, recover or care for a newborn. Families need a system that supports us, not one that forces us to choose between our health and groceries and a roof over our babies’ heads.
Congress must reject Medicaid cuts and invest in the programs that give families a strong foundation. We deserve a country where every baby has the chance to grow up healthy and every parent has the support they need to care for them.
Medicaid saved my life and gave Marleigh the chance to live hers. It’s time for Congress to protect that promise for every family.
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