Olivia and Tom Walton have committed $100 million over five years to cut the US maternal mortality rate in half, with Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America (HMHBA) using the funds as a springboard to draw further public and private investment, a Walton maternal mortality pledge announced on Thursday.
The money will flow through state-matching grants, partnerships, and infrastructure rather than direct payments, with HMHBA aiming to leverage the gift into a broader capital drive.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the US maternal mortality rate rose to 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, up from 18.6 the year before, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recording 688 deaths during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth that year.
The picture is sharply unequal. For Black women, the rate stands at 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, more than three times the rate for white women. Two-thirds of maternal deaths occur in the year after birth, HMHBA notes, and 40% of mothers do not receive follow-up care.
Olivia Walton on why the Walton maternal mortality pledge was personal
Olivia Walton founded HMHBA as an independent 501(c)(3) in May. She made her motivation clear in a statement.
‘It was more dangerous for me to give birth to my children than it was for my mother to give birth to me in the 1980s,’ she said. ‘That is inexcusable, and it is fixable.’
She argues the solutions already exist. ‘Nearly 90 percent of maternal deaths are preventable,’ she said. ‘We know what works, and states across the country are already proving it.’
HMHBA Executive Director Robin Reck put the scale of the problem bluntly: ‘The U.S. spends more money for worse outcomes on maternal health. Far more than any other country in the entire world. Eighty-seven percent of these deaths are preventable, and 65% of them happen after the baby is born.’
The economic cost is substantial. Poor health outcomes in 2020 cost the US economy an estimated $165 billion, according to a Heartland Forward study. A healthy, full-term delivery costs about $6,400; an extreme preterm birth can reach $238,000. March of Dimes found first-year medical costs run roughly four times higher for preterm infants than for full-term ones.
Bipartisan bills and the broader Walton maternal mortality strategy
HMHBA is backing two bipartisan bills in Congress. The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, sponsored by Senators Maggie Hassan, Susan Collins, Katie Britt, and Tina Smith, would fund training, equipment, and teleconsultation for rural facilities without obstetricians. It cleared the Senate health committee in July and now awaits a floor vote.
The second measure, the NIH IMPROVE Act, led in the Senate by Britt and Senator Cory Booker, would authorise seven years of funding for the National Institutes of Health’s maternal-health research initiative.
A national poll of more than 1,000 registered and likely voters released in July found 86% say maternal health needs to improve, and 79% would vote for a candidate who champions such reforms. All 15 policy proposals tested drew majority support from Republicans, Democrats, and independents.
Tom Walton is the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Most of the family’s giving flows through the Walton Family Foundation, which awarded nearly $550 million in grants in 2024 alone, with prime focus areas including the environment, education, and causes in Northwest Arkansas.
Olivia Walton also founded Ingeborg Investments, which funds female startup founders, and chairs the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.
‘America should be the safest place in the world to have a baby,’ she said. ‘We have the evidence and we have the solutions. Now we need the urgency and investment to make them available to every mom, across the country.’
The two bipartisan bills backed by HMHBA both await Congressional action, with the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act’s Senate floor vote the nearest legislative test of whether the Walton maternal mortality pledge can convert political will into law.
