Pregnancy should be a time of anticipation and support. But for too many women, especially in under-resourced communities across Ghana and the United States, it is a time of uncertainty, limited access, and unheard concerns.

SIMI’s Mom Count program was built to change that.

What is Mom Count?

Mom Count is an evidence-based maternal health program designed to educate, resource, and empower pregnant women to navigate their health with confidence. It was recognized by the American Public Health Association as an effective program for improving maternal health outcomes, not because it follows a clinical checklist, but because it centers the woman, her family, and her community.

What makes it different?

Most maternal health interventions focus on the medical moment, the appointment, the delivery, and the discharge. Mom Count looks at the whole picture.

• Pregnant women receive education on prenatal care, nutrition, and birth preparedness
• Resources are delivered in culturally relevant, accessible ways, not through jargon-heavy pamphlets
• Community health champions serve as trusted bridges between women and the formal health system
• The program addresses the social determinants that shape pregnancy outcomes, housing, stress, support systems, and more

Why it matters right now.

Black women in the U.S. are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. In Ghana, maternal mortality remains a critical public health challenge. These aren’t statistics without faces; they are mothers, daughters, and partners whose outcomes are shaped by systems, not just biology.

Mom Count says: that is not acceptable, and it is not inevitable.

Having already served 80 pregnant women in Ghana, SIMI is now expanding Mom Count to the United States, bringing the same community-centered, evidence-backed approach to families in New York and beyond.

At the 2026 SIMI Global Health Equity Summit in Ghana, maternal health will take center stage, bringing together advocates, health workers, and community leaders to ask what it truly takes to keep mothers alive and thriving.

Because every pregnancy deserves more than survival. It deserves dignity.

Mom Count is SIMI’s evidence-based maternal health program serving women in Ghana and expanding to the U.S. Learn how community health champions are saving lives.