OLO Report Flags Racial Gaps in Maternal Health

The County Council's Health and Human Services Committee held a session on February 19, 2026 to review an Office of Legislative Oversight report documenting significant racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes in Montgomery County. The report, requested by HHS Committee Chair Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles, found that Black women in the county experience the highest rates of severe maternal morbidity, cesarean births, preterm births, low birthweight babies, and fetal and infant deaths. Montgomery County operates three maternal health programs, two of which are targeted at Black and African American women.