Integrating Lawyers Into Perinatal Care Teams to Address Unmet, Health-Harming Legal Needs

Abstract

Across the United States, historically imposed structural, social, and environmental variables are intimately connected to poor obstetric outcomes and high maternal and infant mortality rates among Black pregnancy-capable people. Efforts to diminish the effect of these variables include integrating screening for social determinants of health during the perinatal period and treating them with social services, mental health support, and other referrals, including connections to community-based resources. Although helpful, some of these social determinants cannot be overcome without legal advocacy. Medical–legal partnerships, which integrate lawyers into health care, fill this gap. This commentary by an interprofessional team of authors relies on the experience of an established MLP. We posit that unmet legal needs of perinatal patients merit ongoing monitoring and intervention. We explain the rationale for perinatal practice medical–legal partnerships and share implementation suggestions from a high-intensity safety-net urban hospital.

Medical-Legal Partnerships: a promising approach for addressing health-harming legal needs among people with HIV

“…These needs often intersect with social determinants of health and can include issues such as housing instability, discrimination, lack of health insurance, employment concerns, or access to disability benefits. Addressing health-harming legal needs is essential for promoting overall wellbeing and improving health outcomes (Gruskin et al, 2013 ; Atkins et al, 2014 ; Hall et al, 2022 ; Loughran, 2022 ; Girard et al, 2023 ; Liaw et al, 2023 ; Patchen et al, 2023 ).…”